No Conditions
by secretcastle
Summary: It started with a deal after he got dumped, but could it grow into something more? As a warning to GabriellaTroy shippers, this is a Troypay fic. Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I just want to rewrite the characters so they're not so Disney perfect.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** I wrote this after I watched HS Musicale for about the fifth time. It's my first HS musicale fanfic and it's definitely not Disney style. It's lot darker and it's T-rated for mature themes. Gabriella's not so nice in here—but then again, I don't think any of the characters here are. I was just irritated that everyone is so perfect (especially Gabriella) in Disney. I'd like to explore a mean side to them—or at least a more natural mean side to Troy. As for Sharpay—she remains Sharpay. I don't know why, but I like her the way she is. So if you can find the time to read and review, please do so. I'd like to know your take on this one._

**No Conditions**

**Chapter One**

Troy Bolton wanted to punch something, desperately. He wanted something else to feel pain that could probably ease the ache in his own heart. He settled on the wall of this deserted dressing room.

"_Bang, bang!"_

The impact hurt his hand terribly and there was a bit of loose paint on the wall but he didn't care. He punched again. And again. He was about to punch for a fifth time but his hand was too weak. It was already quite red and he sank on the floor wishing it would just eat him alive and bring him to a place where no emotions could take hold of him again.

It was a Friday. The twentieth of April. A lovely day with good weather conditions and for once there wasn't much homework to be done. Normally, he would be out of the school by now—having a latte at the local coffee shop or perhaps getting ready for a romantic date at the movies with his girlfriend. Except today was not a normal day. Today was the day his Gabriella decided to dump him. Yes dump him! Troy Bolton—popular basketball man, number one school champion and all-time good guy was just dumped.

It wasn't as if he had no warning. The signs were all there if cared to read them. It had appeared directly after the success of their spring musicale. Without the rehearsals that usually brought them together after school, Gabriella sank back into her academic routine. She joined one competition after another, forcing herself to spend much of her time studying and less time hanging out with him. Of course at that time, he was happy for her. She was making a name for herself in the academe. And the scholarship letters from the Ivy League universities were pouring in one after the other for her.

And then came Easter break. She went away on holiday with her father in California. When she came back, he knew something had changed. She avoided him. She declined to kiss him—as if each time she was having a guilty thought over her head. She refused to let him see her cell phone. But he didn't ask. He didn't spy. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Then came the bomb. It was just after their last period. He knew she didn't have anything scheduled today and he though he would take her out tonight. But she pulled him into a nearby classroom and told him: she found someone else. He was a professor at the UCLA—a brilliant mathematician, child genius who had been winning math prizes since he was six and finished college by the time he was 14. At 18, he was now working on his Ph.D. What surprised Troy was that she had known him before. He had been a judge at most of the inter-school mathematics competitions she had been in. Troy sensed she carried a torch for this math guy for years, and now he finally noticed her.

It hurt to realize that and he wanted to accuse her so much of giving him false hope. But he didn't say anything. His pride wouldn't let him. So he took it like a man. He said it was okay, that he was happy for her. And even though she was crying and telling him she was truly sorry, he refused to join her in tears. "I'll be fine. It was wonderful being together, but then it's not meant to be," he told her. "I'll move on," he assured her. "Good luck."

Then he made up some lame excuse and walked away, head held high and calm. He greeted his fellow students like he did normally and made a beeline for the auditorium. He slipped into one of the dark dressing rooms and it was there that he finally let himself cry.

And so here was where he found himself with his knuckles aching and his heart swelling. He thought of her and the rage within him rose again. He was seeing red and it intensified when he saw himself in the mirror. Impulsively he put his hand to it with as much force as he can muster, shattering the glass into a dozen fragments. His hand bled badly but he didn't care.

"Is someone in there? What's going on?" a sharp female voice called out. The door suddenly opened and there was a sound of scraping against the wall as someone fumbled for the light switch. Suddenly, the room was illuminated and there stood Sharpay in her perfectly pink blouse and matching white skirt.

"Troy… what in the world…" He tried to hide his hand but it was too late. She saw his hand was bleeding and the evidence from the mirror lay scattered around him. He could not deny what he had done, so he thought of only one recourse so she would not question him further.

"Leave me alone!" he shouted fiercely. He surprised even himself. He had never shouted to anyone that way.

She jumped back, her eyes wide in shock. For a moment, he thought she looked like a frightened animal who would like nothing more than to scamper away at the threat of a predator. But then she regained her composure and approached him.

"Your hand's bleeding," she said.

"And so? Just go away, Sharpay!" he said even more menacingly.

She didn't seem fazed at all. She went through her bag and found a packet of tissues. She pulled out a few pieces and handed it to him. "Here."

He ignored her—which he realized a second later—was a mistake. For in the next instant, she was grabbing his bleeding hand and wiping the blood away herself.

"Oww!" he cried as her fingers touched a tiny fragment of glass still lodged in his hand.

"This is no good. I should get you to the clinic immediately."

"No!" She tugged at him but he pulled back. The force of his letting go caused his hand to hit the wall and the fragments still in his hand made him wince with new pain. She took advantage of that to grab his hand—his bleeding hand. She squeezed it hard and made him cry out.

"AAAaahhhh! Let me go!"

"Only if you let me take you to the clinic!" she shouted back.

"Stop it! You're hurting me!"

"Well, you wanted pain, didn't you?"

He was suddenly frightened by her. She was heartless! She would torture him until she got what she wanted.

"Alright! Alright! I'll go!" he cried desperately.

She let go of his hand but grabbed his other hand in a firm grip and pulled him out of the room and out of the auditorium. The corridors were already deserted and he was grateful no one would see him in this state. He glanced at the clock that read a quarter to six.

"The clinic's already closed. The nurse leaves at five."

She suddenly changed direction, tugging him with her.

"Where are we going?" he asked. He noticed that they were headed towards the building exit.

"To my car. I'm driving you to the hospital!"

He was about to protest, but she held out her other hand to him, the one that was still smeared with his blood. "Do you want me to crunch your hand again?" she said fiercely.

He shook his head. What a harpy she was!

He made no further resistance and got into her car as docile as a trained puppy. She was quick to start up and back away. When she was on the road she floored the gas pedal. Frightened, he put on his seatbelt.

"Slow down!" he cried. "You're passing the speed limit."

"I have an excuse. You need a doctor."

He rolled her eyes at her with disbelief and for a long time just silently gazed at the road.

"So tell me, Bolton, what made you want to commit suicide in the dressing room?" she suddenly asked.

"I wasn't committing suicide!"

"Alright then, what made you want to punch the mirror? It's not an aversion to your reflection, I suppose. You're not that bad-looking."

Troy didn't reply.

"Fine, you don't need to tell me. But you know what? You shouldn't think much about it. You're well off without little Miss perfect Gabriella anyway."

Troy's jaw dropped open. "What… how did you…"

"How do I know?" she scoffed. "Oh please, it's not like I'm blind. The girl's been acting like ice cream around you for weeks now. Ice cream that isn't so eager to melt in your mouth. It's pretty obvious someone else is melting her and it's not you."

"Shut up! You don't know anything! You—" He was so angry he wanted to say more, but at that moment, Sharpay slammed on the brakes, making him jolt violently. It was only with the providence of his seatbelt that prevented him from hitting the dashboard and adding damage to his body aside from his hand.

"You can argue with me later, right now, we're in the hospital and you need medical treatment."

She quickly got out of her car and made her way to the other side. Before he could do anything, she had opened his car door and unlatched his seatbelt. He realized he was in danger of being mauled out of the car so he got out himself. He wordlessly followed her into the emergency room. Sharpay opened the door for him and for a moment he was afraid she was going to shove him in. But she didn't. She closed the door gently behind him.

He was a little embarrassed when the nurse asked him questions on how he got his wounds. He muttered a lame excuse about accidentally hitting a mirror. But the elderly nurse just shook her head at him.

"Next time you want to vent your anger on your girlfriend dear, try a punching bag. It creates less damage."

Troy groaned. Was he that transparent?

The nurse took about fifteen minutes to get all the glass shards out and bandage his hand. When he walked out of the emergency room he found, to his surprise, Sharpay waiting for him.

"All clean?" she asked.

"Leave me alone," he said as he strode pass her.

"And what are you going to do? Walk home? It's two kilometers away!"

"Yes!" he said without looking back. He strode outside. It was already dark and he didn't like the prospect of walking that far in the dark. But he didn't want to get back into the car with Sharpay either. It didn't occur to him that he could always call home and have his dad pick him up.

He ran quickly into the road. It was deserted and he liked it that way. It allowed him to think, clear his head. And now that he could think clearly, he was angry. He was angry at Gabriella for leaving him just like that when all along he thought she loved him.

_She's not worth it. She's not worth me. I deserve better. She can go to hell with her math genius and I won't care. I'll find someone else. If she thinks I'm going to mope around and cry over her, she thought wrong. I can have every single cheerleader in school and I'll show it in her face._

"_Beep! Beep!"_

A car horn interrupted his thoughts. He realized he was in the middle of the road so he jogged to the side.

"_Beep! Beep!"_

"I'm already on the side!"He protested. He jogged faster, keeping to the side as much as possible so the car could over take him. It didn't.

"_Beep! Beep!" _the car horn insisted.

He turned around and was met with headlights.

"Damn it! It's a big road! Use it for heaven's sake!" he shouted.

The car stopped and in the dim light of the headlights, he recognized it as Sharpay's car.

She poked her head out the window. "Get in!" she ordered.

"No!" And he turned around and ran. He heard her rev her car again and seconds later she was driving beside him.

"Get in!" she commanded.

"Not in your damn life!" he answered back.

"Get in or I'll run you over!" she threatened.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You wouldn't run me over."

"Wanna bet?" She revved her engine and suddenly swerved her car to the right, forcing him to jump away to the edge of the road. She stopped her car again and glared at him.

"You could have killed me!" he cried. "Or at least injure me!"

"It's okay, the hospital is five minutes away." She opened the passenger car door for him. He decided being inside the car with her was safer than being run over so he got in. He made sure to buckle his seatbelt.

"You're horrid!" he told her.

"And I'm hungry. I'll buy you dinner. My penance for trying to run you over."

He stared at her in surprise. She was so eerily calm about this considering she tried to kill him. "Why are you doing this to me? Are you trying to torture me? Is this payback because Gabriella and I beat you out of the spring musicale? I thought you were okay with that by now."

"Yes, I am. I've forgiven you for that. But I do like you as a friend and so I'm trying to cheer you up. You could at least appreciate the effort."

His face wrinkled with confusion. "Your idea of cheering me up is to try to run me over with your car? How sick is that?"

"Think of it this way—when you're worried about your life, you won't have time to brood over your little heart problem."

"I won't have to. You just gave me a new heart problem. You're going to give me a coronary."

"My point exactly."

The logic in that was lost to Troy.

They rode in silence for a long time until Sharpay stopped at a drive-in restaurant. She ordered a huge amount of food.

"You must be really hungry to eat all that," he said.

"No, that's not for me. That's for you. I'm just getting a salad and a diet soda."

"But I don't want all that!"

"Trust me, you will," she said as she drove off to the next window.

The staff was just handing out their food when Troy suddenly saw something beyond the window. Inside he could catch a glimpse of a familiar head at a table inside. It was Gabriella and she was holding hands with some other guy whose back was to them wearing a plaid shirt and ill-matching colored pants. The guy leaned over and kissed her.

He shut his eyes, unable to watch anymore.

"She doesn't waste time, doesn't she?" said Sharpay.

"What are you talking about?" he said lamely.

"I know you saw it the same as I did," she said. "She probably decided to break-up with you today because her new squeeze is coming to town tonight and she wants to be free to finally be with him."

"Oh shut up!" he said. Though he knew, Sharpay was right. Gabriella told him she had been talking to her math genius since Easter. Easter! That was three weeks ago! Why then did she wait to break up with him? Why only now? He caught another glimpse of the couple in the restaurant and the answer was staring at him right in the face. His anger this afternoon was nothing compared to now. If he owned this car, he would break all the windows.

Sharpay didn't say anything. He was grateful when she quickly pulled out of the driveway and went back to the road. She resumed her neck-breaking driving speed but this time he didn't say anything to reprimand her. The speed was comforting him somehow. He opened his window and let the air gush in, blowing his hair, blowing his mind. The only thing that could comfort him more is if they could collide into something so he could die. He smiled at the prospect and almost told Sharpay to just hit a tree or a house. Or perhaps she could turn back and hit that restaurant they've been too. She could make sure he hit the guy Gabriella was with, maybe hit Gabriella herself. Yes, that would be a spectacular way to die!

But when Sharpay began to slow down, he stopped himself from thinking these dark thoughts. It was wrong and he shouldn't be having them. It amazed him that he could think such things.

Sharpay finally slowed to a cruise. She grabbed a sandwich and tossed it to him.

"Eat!"

"I don't want to. I just want to go home. Just drop me off near my house."

"And have you moaning and breaking things again. I don't think so." She turned into the side of the road next to an empty field and came to a full stop. She shut off the engine and took the keys out.

"What are you doing?" he asked. He wanted to blow up, find some way to release his rage, but he couldn't do it properly when Sharpay kept acting bizarre around him.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her glove compartment and rummaged through it. She got out a wrench, a screwdriver and what looked to be a pocket knife. She stashed them into her bag. She removed the cigarette lighter from the dashboard and dropped it in her bag as well. Then she grabbed her salad and coke, opened the door and got out.

"What are you doing?" he repeated.

"I'm giving you time to mourn. But I just want to make sure there's nothing in there that can make you hurt yourself. I'll wait outside. When you're ready, just call me."

He scratched his head at her, but she simply walked away. She sat behind the rear bumper of her car, her back to him and started eating her salad. He was at a lost. Sharpay was driving him nuts. He thought of getting out and running for home but he was afraid she would chase him and try to run him over again. There was nothing for him to do but follow her advice. He grabbed the sandwich and ate it. He was surprised how hungry he was. He gulped down a second before he started attacking the fudge brownies. Who knew brownies could be so comforting?

When he finished, he started thinking again. The sight of Gabriella kissing another guy wanted to make him puke. His anger was returning into full force and he smashed the empty coke cup in his good hand. He ended up with sticky fingers but it made him feel better. His thoughts again returned to revenge. And suddenly he was planning like mad. He had to start dating. But it couldn't be just anyone. It had to be someone so unlike Gabriella, it would drive her off the edge. Someone who isn't brainy, or sweet, or docile. Someone who looked completely opposite her. No dark hair—definitely. It would be better if she was blonde. He ran a list of blonde cheerleaders in his head, but he couldn't think of anyone aggressive enough.

He felt the car shake as Sharpay got off the back of the car and headed back into the driver's seat. He watched her walk towards him and suddenly he had the craziest idea in his life. But at that moment, he didn't think it was crazy—it was perfect.

"Sharpay?"

"Are you done brooding?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll drive you home then." She got in and inserted the key in the car. Troy stopped her.

"I need your help."

"In what way?"

"Go out with me."

"Excuse me?"

"Not for real, just pretend to."

She frowned. "Ah, so you can lay it on her face that you're not grieving. How typically male."

"Look, I'll do anything you want, just go pretend to be my girlfriend."

She eyed him with something like disgust. "Wow, so this is a new side to Troy Bolton I haven't seen. I didn't think Mr. Perfect could sink so low."

"You can stop with the insults. Just tell me, will you help me or not?"

"You're demanding, I don't think I like this side of you that much."

He didn't have time for her games. "Name your price," he snarled with such ferocity that for a while Sharpay seemed to be almost taken aback. But then her face took on that wily little pout again and she seemed to consider what he said.

"Fortunately for you, I don't want much and your needs complement my own. I admit my social status could use a little boost by dating the school's most popular guy. And I wouldn't mind seeing your perfect little 'ex' dropping her jaws when she sees you with me. I may have forgiven you for beating my brother out in the musicale, but I sure as hell haven't forgiven her. So here's what I want. I want you to be in the summer musicale with me. The last production before we graduate."

"That's it?" he asked.

"Yes, that's it mainly. We audition together and we take the lead roles, I'm sure Ryan won't mind. He's been falling behind on academics so he can't take anymore extra-curricular activities if he wants to finish high school in time. And there's the subject of taking me to every major social event in school, including the senior prom until graduation day."

"And you don't want anything else?" he eyed her sharply. He knew Sharpay never did anything out of charity. She would take advantage of anything. She loved herself that much.

"No. That would be enough for me."

He couldn't believe how easy it was, but at the back of his mind, there was a nagging feeling he was getting something he wasn't expecting out of this. And he wasn't sure if it was something he would like. Still, his anger and jealousy stopped him from pondering about it too much. And he finally blurted out: "It's a deal then," he said.

She shook his uninjured hand. "Pleasure doing business with you." She turned the key in the ignition and got them back on the road. It was a short trip, but along the way, Sharpay talked about how they would put this relationship on.

They would start to be chummy at first, she explained. It would not be good to just suddenly be making out in the hallways in front of everyone. It would be too obvious that their relationship was planned. They would spend lunch together, talking about the upcoming musicale or just discussing casual things like schoolwork. Then of course when auditions come next week, they would audition together, spend time with each other at rehearsals. Then finally, after a decent interval they could start kissing in public and show up to Ms. Montez.

Troy was rather astonished at how she can plan it so quickly. Gabriella could never work something out like that. It was something novel to him. Sharpay really had such a devious mind. It was twisted, he knew it. Yet somehow he found her creativity—dark as it was—to be quite appealing.

Sharpay finally stopped in front of his house. "Well, I'll see you on Monday… lover," she said in her usual honey-dripping tone. Something about her voice made him shiver, but it wasn't at all unpleasant.

"Yeah, I will." He managed to choke out. He unbuckled his seatbelt and suddenly remembered something. "Drat! I left my entire bag at the school! I completely forgot!"

"Well it's too late now to go back for it, the school's closed," she said.

"I've got an essay due on Monday and the equations I need to work on. I haven't got a single book with me." He thought maybe he could just go borrow Gabriella's like he usually did but suddenly remembered they just broke up. He frowned.

"Come over to my house tomorrow. I'll lend you mine and we can work on it together."

He smiled at her. "Thanks."

She smiled back. It was odd seeing that smile. He had seen it before and his mind flashed back to the time when he first saw it. It was on a five-year old girl that looked like a porcelain doll—fragile and frightened, yet willing to conquer that fear in an effort to make a new friend. But the memory was hazy and he could no longer remember the details.

"Well…" she began, indicating he should go.

"Goodnight then," he said. And he didn't know why, but he suddenly moved towards her and kissed her cheek. He then turned away and didn't even look at her expression. He strode towards his house and just gave a back-hand wave without looking at her. He didn't want to look back and see the usual fake smile that Sharpay always wore. He was trying to picture the memory of the sincere one he remembered she had on so many years ago. Yet as she pulled away, he managed to glimpse at her. The same sincere smile was on her face and he thought how fragile she looked.

_**A/N:** Too OoC? Too mean? Sharpay too scary? Hate me for turning Gabriella into a meanie?Tell me what you think so far._


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **Wow! Thirteen reviews in less than 24 hours after I put up this story! That was just amazing. I am in cloud 9! That's the biggest number I've yet to receive in a story (I've actually written fan fiction before, just not HSM). Anyway, since I'm drowned out by all your wonderful pleas to update, I present my next chapter here. Enjoy._**  
**

**Chapter Two**

_I knew this was not reality. I knew there are some things I could never have—at least not the way I wanted it. And Troy Bolton was one of those things. I knew it from kindergarten. He showed me that in kindergarten._

_He doesn't remember anyway. He had forgotten I was the first friend he ever had in school. It was the first day Ryan and I stepped into school. Ryan was crying on Mum's knees so I was left all alone to mingle with the other children. Everyone seemed to be playing in their own little corner that I was afraid of coming over and interrupting them. Then I saw him—a little boy with dirty blond locks playing with a pile of bricks. Yet he seemed to be watching me from the corner of his eye. His face held a silent invitation to come over. As much as I was afraid to come to this stranger, I smiled and mustered the courage to come near him. We didn't say anything, just smiled. And soon we were sharing the pile of bricks. We never talked, just played and laughed and made up things. It was as simple as that. I knew he was my best friend and I was his. No complications._

_Then the following day came and this time I caught him playing in the sandbox with the other boys. He invited me to play and so I did. But the boys wanted to play rough games. They threw sand at each other and wrestled. I didn't like it and when I cried because I had sand in my eyes, they laughed. He didn't. But he didn't stand up for me either. When I pleaded him through looks to come and play a different game with me, he refused. And that's when I understood it. I could play with him but only if I played with his group. There was a condition. I didn't want to take it, so I left him. That's where our friendship ended and it never changed._

_I never hanged around with Troy Bolton. He had his crowd, I created my own with my brother as my sidekick. As we grew up, both us came to be rulers in school. We were like two monarchs of two different kingdoms living in harmony for as long as we stuck within our borders. And in high school, borders were serious matters. _

_That is until he decided to break it, with perfect Gabriela. And I hate her. Because she was the one he accepted without a condition. Her, not me, even when I tried so hard to get him to accept me at the start of the new year._

_After I watched how he and goody-two-shoes Montez stole the show during the call backs, I knew I was defeated. During the celebration after the big game, I tried to be friendly. No use looking like a sore loser to the rest of the student body. I let myself look happy. It wasn't that hard to do. But I realized then that I should give up. I could never have him or if I did, there would be conditions. There were always conditions._

_When I found him that Friday afternoon with his bleeding hand and his miserable heart crying out for his too-good girlfriend, I saw my chance to have him. But I knew he would not come to me the way I wanted it. Not entirely, not willingly and certainly not in the way that he did with that raven-haired braniac. Still, I could have him and I never wanted anyone like I wanted him. This was my last effort to have him before we graduated and lose him completely. So when he offered, I took it. I didn't care if it was all just a farce. He was using me. I was using him. That's the way it works with Troy Bolton. Frankly, I didn't care. _

Troy paced about for probably the tenth time at the curb of the street. If anyone was watching him, they would thought he was doing some weird dance: three steps forward, one step back, three steps forward, one step back—over and over again. It didn't exactly give him much progress. But then again, he didn't know if he wanted to progress at all. Reaching his goal wasn't exactly a prospect he was looking forward to because the goal was Sharpay Evan's house.

Technically his goal was not her house. But within the house lay what he needed: books and notes to finish his homework for Monday. It was essential he get them. Trouble is he needed to face the tigress again to get them.

He backed two steps this time. _I should just go up to Chad's house and borrow his,_ he thought. Of course that would mean walking about two miles. His car was currently being repaired and his father and mother were away with the family car so there was no other option. Of all his classmates, none of them lived near him enough to walk to but Sharpay and Ryan Evans.

He considered walking for a moment and decided it was just too far. He summoned the courage and walked straight forward. He was about five steps from her door when he heard music from within. Someone was playing a piano and a hauntingly sweet voice joined it in harmony.

Troy had heard Sharpay sing before. He had seen every single one of her productions and he was familiar with her vocal capabilities. But he had never heard her sing like this—no microphone, no amplifier, no sound mixing system. It was raw, it was simply beautiful. He waited eagerly for more.

She finished with a note that was gut-wrenchingly sad, almost weeping, but her voice was still full—never cracking. Gabriella's voice tended to crack when she got too emotional with a song, but Sharpay's didn't. Yet he could still feel as if she was weeping in that song for real.

The last notes of the instrumental ended though he wished they didn't. He suddenly remembered what he was here for and promptly knocked. The door opened and there stood Sharpay in a plain shirt and ragged shorts. Her hair was a bit disheveled. She took one look at him with a surprised expression—then slammed the door in his face!

Troy was confused. He stared at her door and pondered helplessly for a moment whether he should go away now. He thought maybe it was a good thing he remained on this side of the door if she was in one of her ugly moods.

Then his cell phone beeped indicating a message. He read it:

"Stay der. Give me 5 mins."

He followed her message. She didn't. Her five minutes turned out to be ten.

When she opened the door, she was now wearing a tastefully selected tank top and Capri pants. Her hair was also back to its usual neat style.

"You should have called me!" she snapped. "Or at least sent me a message that you were coming now!"

"Sorry, I just assume—"

"Never, ever assume!" she cut sharply. She gestured for him to come in and he did. Her living room was spacious and neat with some comfortable couches and some interesting abstract paintings on the wall. He figured it was all by the same artist. He noticed the signature at one of the larger ones and he could read the word 'Evans' scrawled there. A piano stood at a place of honor at one corner. It was littered with books and music sheets.

"Ryan's down with the flu since yesterday. My parents are with him for a doctor's check-up, so I'm alone. Make yourself at home," she said. "I'm going to get the books." She walked upstairs, leaving him alone. He stared into the room, taking in everything. There was a glass case full of trophies and awards. He leaned over and read a few of them. Some were for Sharpay and Ryan but a lot more were for their parents. He figured based on the citations that the Evans parents were also artists. The father was an accomplished painter, the mother, a ballerina. It was quite intimidating.

He walked over to the piano and noticed the book that was still open. He read the title and recognized the song Sharpay was singing before: "Someone Like You," he read aloud.

"From Jekyll and Hyde," Sharpay's voice cut in. "It's a more recent musicale on Broadway."

"It's a nice song," he blurted without thinking. "It fits you."

Sharpay eyed him sharply. "What do you mean?"

His mouth dropped open as he realized he just confessed to eavesdropping at her. There was nothing left to do but to admit. "I heard you sing it… before I knocked. You're really good," he added the compliment hoping it would calm her.

She smiled, obviously pleased. "Of course, I am." She brought down the books on the coffee table and opened them. "Let's start with homework then."

Troy was just aiming to borrow her books and go, but Sharpay seemed made up on working with him. So he sat next to her on the couch and got down on writing their English essays. After that, they worked on the Trigonometry, or rather, battled over it. He was never good at numbers and he didn't expect Sharpay to be any good either. But it turned out she wasn't half so bad and her answers on assigned equations made more sense than his. When he finally gave up on the computations, she explained the equation to him, though she did so with snide remarks that almost turned into a screaming tirade. In a way, he was partly grateful for it. By the time they finished their homework, it was almost dark and all the time, he realized he hardly thought of Gabriella at all. It was hard to when Sharpay was grilling constantly on his nerves.

"Thanks then, I'll see you Monday," he said, turning to the door but she stopped him.

"Wait! I have to show you something." She beckoned him to the piano where she sorted out some music sheets. She found what she was looking for and handed it to him.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Some of the songs for the summer musicale. I got it from Kelsi last week."

"I thought Darbus wasn't releasing them until we sign up on Monday."

"Drama Club President privilege," she snorted. "Everything has to go through me for approval. We're doing an adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. Know anything about it?"

Troy scrunched up his memory. He had never read it but he did know its author. "It's Shakespeare, right?" He was suddenly feeling quite ill. The Twinkle Towne musicale was easy enough. But he didn't know how he would fare reciting all those "thous" and "thines" and the rest of the complex Elizabethan English speeches in song.

"Yes, a comedy. But this time, Kelsi decided to take my suggestion and do a modern-day jazz version. It's rather unusual but it's quite good." She stared at the music sheet fondly and for a moment Troy saw something like pride in them. But he was suddenly thinking of something else.

"Jazz… you mean… dancing and voice improvisation…" He was even more worried. He wasn't sure if he could handle such a genre.

Sharpay watched him and he realized she understood his dilemma. He expected her to arch her eyebrows at him and gloat. But she didn't. She had a small smile at her lips that was lacking in malice. "Relax, it's translated to contemporary English. You'll do fine. You've got me for a coach."

He wasn't sure if he wanted that.

"Come sit down and listen to it," she patted on the space of the piano seat next to her.

He sat reluctantly and watched as she placed her hands on the keys. Her fingers began to move gracefully over them. He was amazed at how good she was. Then she began to sing, and it was with such passion that he lost all thought but her and her voice. It was almost like she was singing for him, to him.

"I heard, I refuse to believe, can it be true?

Am I that proud? That scornful too?

I leave away my contempt,

My female pride, goodbye

No point in denying my affections

Because with myself, I cannot deny

Benedick, I'll love you too

I'll tame myself to you

And if you could love me back

Then do, then do

I believe it, I believe it

I believe it more than they said

For in your heart is where

I want to be led"

She finished with lilting hum and her eyes sparkled with delightful longing. Even after she ended the song, her eyes continued to stare at the music sheet for a long moment with the same expression. It fascinated him so that he found he couldn't take his eyes off her.

Slowly, she tilted her head to the side.

He caught her eye. "It's beautiful," he said simply.

Her mouth fell open and he was astonished when she turned a shade darker. But before he could observe further, she had turned away and gotten up for her seat.

"You should go, it's late," she said. And suddenly, she was almost shoving him out her door.

"What about the duet?" he protested. He didn't know why but he was feeling extremely disappointed somehow.

"I don't know the guy's part yet." She thrust the musical score at him. "Ask Kelsi to run it over with you. Goodbye."

She shut the door in his face again, though not very hard this time. He stared at a long moment at her door, puzzled that hours ago he was doing the very same thing. Back then he was thinking how glad he was that he was on this side of the door away from her. But right now he couldn't help but feel somehow that he wanted to be on the other side of the door with her.

_**A/N: **I chose "Someone Like You" because of the lyrics. I think they fit Sharpay's situation perfectly, but I didn't want to write them in the story because it sounded too cheesy. In case you still want to know, here is part of the lyrics:_

_So many secrets_

_I've longed to share_

_All that I needed is someone there_

_To help me see a world_

_I couldn't see before_

_A love to open every door  
To set me free, so I can soar!_

_Oh if someone like you, found someone like me_

_Then suddenly, nothing will ever be the same_

_My heart would take wing, and I'd feel so alive _

_If someone like you, loved me_

_Loved me_

_Loved me…_

_Sharpay's song, on the other hand, is my pathetic attempt to translate lines 113-122 (Act III, scene 2) of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing to ordinary speak akin to song lyrics. This is a speech by Beatrice on overhearing from her friends that Benedick is in love with her. If you're familiar with the play, it is a battle of the sexes story between Benedick, the confirmed bachelor and Beatrice, the headstrong maiden. The play's plot isn't exactly significant to this story but I simply like this particular Shakespeare comedy. I figured that if they're going to do a jazz musicale, it might as well be this one (it's funny, it's light and I could just imagine some good dance scenes). Plus, there is a romantic couple as the lead roles, which is perfect for Troy and Sharpay. All the other characters just play second fiddle to them._

_Regarding the "summer musicale," I know in the film it was mentioned that there would be a "fall" musiciale, not summer. But I remembered that Troy and Sharpay are seniors, that means they would have graduated by June. They won't be in school anymore for the fall the musicale, so I re-situated a summer musicale instead which comes before graduation._

_Again, do write me a review and tell me how this chapter goes. The future chapters won't be as long as the first one, probably this second one is the average length. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own HSM, I don't own Jekyll and Hyde, and I don't own Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" either. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_I let my guard down for a moment and I almost lost it. It must never happen again, especially not around Troy Bolton. No, he will never see me weaken. After kindergarten, I would not let him. I cannot let him hurt me again, not when I knew he wouldn't accept me for who I am. I'll just have to be more careful with him not to reveal anything. _

_But a strange feeling of satisfaction comes to me when he asked me that deal. So Mr. Perfect, has a mean streak after all even if he's not willing to give up his honorable image. Now this is quite interesting. _

* * *

Coach Bolton shut of the engine of the car and faced his son.

"You alright?" he asked.

Troy nodded. "I'll be okay dad. Thanks for the ride."

"No trouble. Just take it easy," replied his concerned father. "If you hear anything, just ignore them."

Troy gave him a grateful smile as he got out of the car and headed ahead into the building. He was glad his father understood. He already told his father this morning about his break-up. He decided it was better that his father learned it from him rather than from the other teachers at the faculty lounge. That was one of the disadvantages of being the most popular boy in school whose father happened to be the coach. Your father gets more news about you in school than you care to let him know. One way or another, his break up with his sweetheart was bound to get to his father—through his teammates or the faculty.

Troy came to school early on Monday morning on account of two things: one he didn't want to be stared at when he walked into the school while the news of his break-up with Gabriella was floating around. He didn't want any questions asked, at least not until homeroom. And two, he needed to talk to Sharpay before the news of his break-up did spread.

He thought long and hard about it. He realized he wanted the details of their break kept secret. He told himself it was because he was a nice guy and he did not want Gabriella's good girl image to be tainted. Yet, a large part of him didn't want anyone to know she had cheated on him because it hurt his pride. He didn't want anyone knowing he had been the loser.

So far, from his side, no one else but Sharpay knew about the details of the break-up. He didn't even tell Chad or his basketball teammates anything and he had no intention of giving them information. He was sure Gabriella would keep mum on the incident, but he wasn't so sure of Sharpay. She could be unpredictable. There was a chance she had sent the story out on the school e-group by now. Still, he was hoping he could make an attempt to stop her from saying anything.

When he got inside the building, he sent her a text message, the third since he got up this morning: "Nid to talk. Mit me theater wen you arive. Wil be der by 6:30."

He proceeded to the auditorium and waited for a reply. She didn't reply to the first two messages he had sent. Finally he looked at his watch. It read 6:35. He had been standing outside the theater for the last twelve minutes. He decided to go in and wait for her—or at least hide out here until homeroom if she decided not to come at all. For all he knew, she was probably announcing to the world the gory details of his sad love life.

He heard someone playing the piano from the inside. He approached the stage, expecting to find Kelsi. Instead, he found a familiar blonde head whose glorious hair fell on a body-hugging grey blouse. She had her back slightly turned to him but he could still see the curve of her legs that emerged from her dark blue mini skirt. He couldn't help but stare at them.

"You're late," she said without turning to him or losing the melody of the song she was playing.

"Sorry I—" he began, still quite distracted at the sight of her legs. Her leg moved a bit and her skirt hitched higher, revealing about an inch more of her perfectly flawless skin.

She banged a discordant chord and swiveled around her seat to face him. He would have been thrilled with the better view of her legs, but he was suddenly too afraid of her to stare at anything but her face.

"You pester me three times this morning then you don't show up on time!" she accused. "I had to drag Ryan out of his bed so early. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get my brother to wake up before dawn?"

He was about to give his excuse, but she held up her hand and gave him a dismissing wave. "Just tell me what you want to say," she said.

Troy got up to join her on the stage. He stood by the piano and wrung his hands uncomfortably.

"Look, I just thought… can you not tell anyone about Gabriella, you know, on why she and I broke up…"

Sharpay arched an eyebrow at him. "And why would I do that?"

Troy moved to kneel in front of her. "I just don't want anyone to know, please Sharpay. It's something I'd rather not let the whole school know. I prefer if everyone just thought we had a mutual break, a natural falling apart. I don't really want rumors—you know, about Gabriella… having another guy. I don't want anyone saying things about her… you know what I mean."

Sharpay just stared at him for a long moment, a nasty sneer forming on her mouth. "You know what I think?" she finally asked.

He was afraid to ask but he was able to mutter: "What?"

"Troy Bolton, you are such a hypocrite."

"What?"

She stared down at him. "For all your good boy image, your nice clean act, you're no better than the rest of us. The whole school may think you're such a saint, but I know and you know you're just as vindictive and mean as I can be."

"What do you mean?" he asked defensively.

She got up from the piano seat and paced about. "Oh stop trying to pretend you actually cared about Gabriella's reputation. It's really your ego you're trying to protect, so why not just say it."

"That's not true!" he said hotly. "I do care about Gabriella, I just don't want rumors about her, that's all. I don't want anyone thinking she's—"

"A cheater!"

"Don't say that!" He interjected. Somehow her saying the word out loud felt like an insult to him.

"Why not? It's true isn't it? Why not call a spade, a spade? It's good damn honest. And if you're really honest yourself and you really care about her, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Remember you offered to me because you wanted revenge. It was your idea, not mine."

Troy didn't say anything, because he couldn't think of anything to say. In his mind, she was partly right.

She scoffed at him. "You and I are just the same, Troy. The only difference between us is I don't go around hiding and being nice."

She walked away and headed to the door, but she stopped halfway and looked back at him. "Don't worry, I'm not going to say anything to anybody. But I'm not doing it for her. I'm doing it for your pride."

"Thanks," he mumbled. He knew he should be angry at her or at least upset. But somehow he felt good. It felt good that there was one person who knew this dark side of him and didn't really care he wasn't as all good as he always projected himself to be.

He caught up to her but she stopped him. "Let me go ahead a few minutes," she said. "We're not supposed to be seen too close together yet. There will be time enough for that."

He nodded and he watched her strut out the door. He hanged around the theater for several minutes, tinkering with the piano keys for a bit. He remembered he left his bag the previous week and found them in the old dressing room still littered with glass. He cleaned up the remaining evidence of his rage last Friday and went out of the auditorium.

There were a few students milling around and the corridors were still relatively quiet. He headed for his locker. On the way he passed the bulletin boards where Sharpay was talking to Darbus, the drama teacher. They were putting up the sign-up list for the auditions. Sharpay scribbled her name under the pairs auditions in her usual large and loopy script after the teacher was gone.

Troy stared at it for a long moment. Sharpay's words earlier stung in his ears. He suddenly made a resolution. It was a small thing, but he thought it was some semblance of honesty about himself.

He came over to Sharpay and borrowed her pink pen. Sharpay gave it to him with a puzzled look. He gave no answer but scribbled his name after her, with the word "and" between their names, indicating that they were auditioning as a pair.

"I thought you were waiting for the news of your relationship to come to public attention before signing up to pair with me," whispered Sharpay. "Just so nobody would have to ask any questions, and our 'relationship' isn't in any way suspicious."

"To hell with that. Everybody's going to find out we broke up anyway. Maybe everyone can find out this way," he said.

"But you're still sticking to the story of a mutual break up and no details."

"Yes," he admitted. "Call me a hypocrite, but there are some things I'd still rather keep to myself."

She smirked but it wasn't spiteful. "There's hope for you yet. Now scram before anyone sees us together," she added, suddenly changing back to the old Sharpay, though he knew she approved of his actions.

He laughed at her expression—it was the first time he did since his break-up and it felt good. Surprisingly, no one mentioned anything until after homeroom. Gabriella and Taylor didn't appear at school so there were no questions asked on why he wasn't beside her. Troy expected that Chad would be the first to mention it since Taylor was his girlfriend and was the direct link to Gabriella. But apparently, Chad hadn't heard the news yet. It was Kelsi who first mentioned it.

"Why are you auditioning with Sharpay?" she asked in the corridor when she caught up with him. Unfortunately, she said it a little too loud and everyone's ears seemed to perk up. "What happened to Gabriella?" Kelsi continued.

Troy just shrugged. He expected the line of questioning and he was determined to keep it cool and reveal nothing, especially in a corridor full of students. "We broke up," he said simply without a hint of emotion, then walked away. The tardy bell had just rung so he was saved the trouble of answering until lunchtime when his teammates interrogated him. But by then, apparently Gabriella had showed for her first class period with Taylor and the story that came out was similar to what he was planning to tell: a mutual break and they just wanted to be friends. Chad and the rest of his teammates were a bit put off that he didn't even mention anything. But not even their guilt trip convinced Troy to give any further details. After a hellish lunch hour, they gave up trying to pry and left him alone, convinced he was not up to saying anything but a standard diplomatic answer. He avoided Gabriella the entire day, which wasn't very hard since she seemed to be avoiding him as well. They had no shared classes today apart from homeroom so they had no chance of meeting.

The news spread quickly throughout the school but Troy ignored the whispers and the furtive looks he got from almost everyone. He focused on Math and World History as if his life depended on it but even difficult equations and the achievements of the Tang Dynasty couldn't distract him enough. The rumors that flew and grew about him ranged from senseless to downright weird.

There was one that mentioned Gabriella was moving away before the semester ended. Another went that she lost her voice so she couldn't sing anymore so Troy had to look for another partner. The oddest one was the one he got from his own father.

Coach Bolton stopped him on the way to his last class with a worried expression on his face.

"What's this I've been hearing that Gabriella Montez is my long lost illegitimate daughter and that you two just broke up before you committed incest?"

Troy's jaw just dropped open. Honestly! The ideas that people could come up with! He explained to his father that it wasn't true—like he would believe something like that in the first place! But it did make both of them laugh. And in a way, Troy was glad. People could have the craziest ideas but they never hit close to the truth and he preferred it to stay that way.

It was too funny to keep to himself so Troy wrote it down and passed it as a note for Sharpay during their last class. He noticed her giggle silently when she read it and passed a note back to him through Ryan:

"How in the world did anyone think of that? Maybe I could start a rumor that you're gay. I'm interested to know how it would end up after people distort the original story."

He wrote back: "Ha ha! Like anyone would really believe I'm gay!"

"Want to find out?"

He was just scribbling a reply in the negative when he was startled by their history teacher, Mr. Rodriguez.

"Miss Evans, are you passing notes?" Troy looked up sharply. Sharpay's last note was still safely tucked underneath his book. But he realized Sharpay just sent another one before he could reply and that last one was intercepted when she passed it on—quite obviously—to Ryan. "Well perhaps, it's something you'd like to share with the rest of the class."

Sharpay gave their history teacher a guilty look though Troy knew it was all an act. He was suddenly nervous.

She stood up in front of the class and read aloud the note she had written herself: "Troy Bolton is gay."

He wanted to die!

Sharpay merely smiled at him. He was going to kill her—oh wait, if he did that and he also died he might meet her in the afterlife where she could torture him some more. No, she had to remain alive so he could haunt her for life!

Troy didn't notice that the class was completely silent until their teacher cleared his throat. He gave Troy an apologetic look. "Well, Miss Evans for your attempt to malign a fellow student, you'll have detention for today."

"Yes sir," she said in fake sad voice that might have fooled their history teacher but not him. Troy could see the smile at the corners of her mouth and it told him she thought getting detention was worth it if she could persecute him. He should never have sent that note to her in the first place. He thought he was connecting with her somehow since last Saturday and this morning he felt that she was something like a friend. He should have known better that she was still the same impulsive and cruel girl he had known all his life.

"I am sorry Mr. Bolton," said Mr. Rodriguez. "I am sure that was just an insensitive remark."

Troy nodded a grateful thanks, but he knew the damage was done. He could see it now: by this time tomorrow, he will be branded as a faggot and be the butt of jokes of his entire team. When the final bell rang, he was the first one out of the classroom. He wanted to be out of the school before the rumor spread. He passed the bulletin boards and caught a glimpse of two familiar heads. It was Taylor and Gabriella. He was confident the new rumor hadn't reached them yet. They were staring at the audition list, whispering in low voices. Troy could read the animosity in Taylor's face as she silently mouthed Sharpay's name. Gabriella's however was blank. Suddenly she turned and met his gaze. He expected anger, jealousy or perhaps even longing. But there was none. The only thing he could find there was pity.

She shook her head as if she was sorry for him then walked away with Taylor, leaving him confused and ashamed of himself. For a long time, he stared into space, wondering why it didn't seem to affect her at all.

Suddenly he could feel eyes burrowing on him again. He realized he stayed in the corridor too long and people were already filling the hall. He noticed Jason, who was also in his history class, making a beeline for him. He forced himself to ignore him and calmly walk away. He had gone several steps when he realized he was headed in the wrong direction. The exit was two long hallways away. Two long hallways full of people who were now currently speculating about his sexual preference! Desperately, he entered the first empty classroom he could find and closed the door.

"Mr. Bolton, what are you doing here?"

He turned around. The classroom wasn't empty after all. Mr. Rodriguez was there—with Sharpay! She seemed to be making a timeline chart on the Chinese dynasties. He realized she was serving detention—history style.

Sharpay was smirking at him. She knew exactly why he was here. He wanted to wring her neck and if their history teacher wasn't there to witness his crime, he would no doubt do it.

"Mr. Bolton?" their teacher repeated.

"I… " he began. He knew he should go but he didn't want to go out there and face the other students.

Mr. Rodriguez gave him a kind look. "I think I understand. You may stay if you want, at least until after Miss Evans finishes her detention." He looked at his watch. "I'm supposed to be at a faculty conference in two minutes. Since you're staying, would you mind very much if you watch over her?"

Troy and Sharpay both gave him a puzzled look. Troy thought: _Is he serious? He's giving me the opportunity to commit murder!_

His eyes focused on Sharpay and his gaze hardened to a glare. Sharpay glared back.

"Good, it's settled then," said their teacher with an amused grin. "I'll be back by five and I want you both in one piece each when I return," he added the subtle threat before exiting and shutting the door behind him.

"How could you do that!" he shouted at her when they were finally alone.

"It was a joke!" she replied.

"It's not funny! You just have to make it worse, didn't you? What is wrong with you? You think everything and everyone is just a thing to be played with for your own amusement!"

He stepped forward to get the point across and she involuntarily stepped back though her face was as hardened as his.

"I don't know what sick pleasure you get from torturing me, but I want you to stop right now!" Sharpay's back reached the wall and she had no more room to move further. He didn't realize his hands were pinning her arms to the wall. He was just so angry with her he wanted to hurt her.

"You know Mr. Rodriguez said he wants to see us in one piece each," he said menacingly. "He didn't exactly say anything about the state of that one piece."

He expected her to fight back, push him back. But suddenly her face contorted into panic. It rather surprised him for he had never seen anyone look so frightened of him before. He was suddenly frightened himself of what he was capable of doing. He stepped away and took long deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.

They were silent for a long time. It could have been just a few minutes or an hour, he couldn't tell. When he finally looked back, Sharpay was working on her time line again. He wanted to be away from her, but he knew he couldn't face the stares waiting for him outside, so he remained in the room in a corner, as far away from her as possible. Finally, he couldn't take the silence anymore.

"What am I going to do now? Tell me? You brought this mess on me."

She looked up and the calm expression was back on her face. "I wouldn't worry too much," she replied evenly.

He rounded on her. "Not worry? You just told the whole school I'm gay!"

"Hey, it was just one class," she argued.

"It doesn't matter if it's just one class. You tell one class and it spreads to the entire school!"

"So what? Like you said before, who would believe you're gay anyway? Just because I said it doesn't mean they'll believe it."

"You put the idea on their heads! Now everybody will be wondering if it's true."

"Well is it?" she asked.

"No!" he protested.

"Then you don't have a problem. Bolton, you really have to learn to just ignore things. Look at me, I don't let nasty rumors bother me. I swear, if you don't let that bother you you'll be a happier person."

He strode over to her again and towered over her. "Well, I'm not like you," he hissed.

She didn't step back but held her ground. "Oh yes, I forgot. You're still a hypocrite."

He glared at her, willing her to shrink back again in fright, but she didn't. He finally pulled away from her.

"Look, alright I'll make it up to you," she said. "I'll tell everyone I started the rumor. I'm not exactly known to be reliable lately, so they'll drop the idea as fast as they thought of it. And next week when we come out with our 'relationship' I'll perform public displays of affection with you to the point of being scandalous nobody would ever believe you're gay."

But he shook his head. "Just forget it! Nobody would buy it anyway."

"Of course they will."

"No they won't," he insisted. "What kind of stupid—"

He didn't get to finish his rant for Sharpay suddenly pulled his head hard down towards hers and pressed her lips on his. Before he could even register what was going on, she grasped his left wrist and forcefully jammed his uninjured hand at her rear, underneath her tiny skirt. His blood shot up to his head. He had never been drunk in his life, but at that moment, he thought he realized how it felt. He had never felt like this before and suddenly he was kissing her back and letting his fingers roam her nice shapely backside.

He heard the door open but Sharpay held his head in place with her other hand, refusing to let him go, not that he was willing to anyway.

"Ahem!"

Sharpay broke apart from him and he looked up to see Mr. Rodriguez with a curious look on his face.

"Mr. Bolton I wasn't aware you were desperate to prove Miss Evans wrong when she thought you were gay. However, this is neither the time nor place to do that. You may take your leave now. Your father is waiting at the parking lot. I told him you wanted a ride home. As for you Miss Evans, you are here for detention not to make out."

They both nodded, looking embarrassed. Troy went out without another word but he did see Sharpay grinning at him triumphantly with a look that said: "See, I told you. He believed it, didn't he?" He suddenly realized that she had planned for them to get caught just to prove herself right.

There were only a few students left in the hallways and he did get a few stares and he noticed them whispering together, no doubt about him. But at the moment he didn't really care. He was too busy reminiscing the feel of Sharpay's lips and the smoothness of her skin where she had forced him to touch her. The image of her legs this morning came into his head. He grinned to himself as he recalled Sharpay's offer: "I'll perform public displays of affection with you to the point of being scandalous nobody would ever believe you're gay."

If by displays of affection she meant anything similar to what she did to him just now, he couldn't wait until next week.

* * *

_**A/N: **Horror of horrors! I just saw High School Musical again and I noticed a few mistakes in my story. In the film, the musical that Troy and Gabriella got was the "Winter Musicale" not the "Spring" as I thought it was. The next one should be the spring musicale. So sorry about that. My defense is that I'm not American. We don't have four seasons so I really have no idea how long and up to what month winter ends in the US. When I wrote this, I was just making estimates._

_An anonymous reviewer also pointed out that in the film Troy and the gang are juniors, not seniors. I think you may be right, although I've checked the film and there is no evidence that this is explicitly true. I noticed in the film that they seemed to be the oldest students on campus. Also, by my estimate they appear to be around 16 or 17 years old. Again, my excuse here is cultural difference. In my country we only have 6 years of grade school and 4 years of high school. At 16, we are already on our last year of high school, that's why I when I wrote this I quickly deducted they were seniors. I forgot to consider the school system in the US! So sorry about that but I hope you overlook these mistakes, I can't change it anymore but I hope you still keep reading. Do send me reviews. I really like reading them. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_I'm finding Troy Bolton even more intriguing than I thought. I expected only a mean streak and I wanted to tempt him to find out just how far is said streak. I thought I was quite safe. I was wrong. He is absolutely dangerous once he's really riled. Those moments in the history classroom when he cornered me to the wall, I actually thought he was going to do something to physically hurt me. It took all my willpower to calm down and not to go running out of that classroom where I knew I was in real danger of his wrath. And it took even more strain on me to act coolly afterwards and pretend that it didn't bother me. Who would have thought saintly Bolton could be the devil incarnate when provoked?_

_Still, I find his dangerous side an additional attraction. He is quite a challenge and I always love a challenge. Fortunately, I possess the inherent knowledge of a typical male teenager's nature. I can play to his ego and his hormones, and that's exactly what I did. If he wasn't attracted to me before, I certainly changed that now. If the way he was kissing me back and how his hand wandered up my behind was any indication, he is definitely interested. I'll just have to keep it that way. _

* * *

"Break a leg, Troy!" a blonde cheerleader greeted him outside of the classroom. "Not that you need it! I'm sure you'll be great! I'll be sure to watch the show!" Several other cheerleaders echoed similar words of encouragement while giggling and flattering him. Troy thanked all of them then walked on towards the auditorium. He paused at the doors and breathed happily.

It was another Friday and here he was again going to the auditorium. But unlike last week, he wasn't here to cry. He was here to do what he found was one of the two best things he enjoyed in his life. A week ago he never imagined that he could ever feel good again. However, life had a way of making you bounce back unexpectedly.

Contrary to what he dreaded, the rest of the week wasn't hell. Sure, there were still rumors about him but he had taken Sharpay's advice of ignoring them. And she was right. He was happier when he ignored the side comments from people that didn't really matter. As for the people that did matter—his friends, teammates and his father—he realized he should have had more faith with them. They didn't spread rumors about him at all but instead, defended him against the nasty ones. Jason, who had been in his history class, was the first one to tell everyone it was Sharpay who started the gay comment about him. Jason was always careful to add that it was just a horridly malicious insult. As a result, the rumor died quickly on Tuesday without even Sharpay making an effort to rectify it.

As for the little incident with Sharpay in the history classroom, Mr. Rodriguez proved to be a discreet man and preferred not to say anything to anyone, even to his father. Sharpay didn't mention anything about it either and carried on around Troy like normal.

Now, everything was back to normal and Troy kept to his cheerful self as if there was nothing amiss. Yet, surprisingly, he craved to be alone with Sharpay again. Whenever he went in school, his eyes would always try to look for her, and admire her from a far. He tried to hang out around her but in keeping to her initial plan, she made it a point never to be alone with him. Even during rehearsals for the auditions in the mornings or after school, Kelsi or Ryan (who took the role as their unofficial choreographer since he didn't have enough time on his hands to perform himself) was always with them. When he attempted to sit down for lunch near her, the rest of the drama club was there. That wasn't unusual since mingling among the students had changed drastically after last winter. Still, the jocks refused to accept Sharpay at their usual table and she got glares all week from Troy's friends for her "cruel gay joke," but that was normal for Sharpay and she didn't seem to mind at all.

"Hey Troy! Good luck!" Chad interrupted his thoughts. He paused from entering the auditorium to return his best friend's friendly jabber and noticed that he wasn't alone. His teammates were all behind him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you want to take advantage of free period to play basketball?" Technically, there were no more basketball practices since the finals had ended but the team still kept playing every chance they got for fun.

"And miss your audition?" asked Zeke. "Not a chance, man. You got us all hooked. We're here for moral support."

"You're going to need it," said Jason. "Not because of your ability, I mean. We all know you're good. But we just thought we'd like to be there… you know… in case the Ice Princess does something nasty again."

Troy's heart warmed at their support. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. And Sharpay's not that bad."

Chad rolled his eyes at him. "I really don't get how you could be so calm about this. If I was you I wouldn't want to be anywhere near that mountain lion, much less be singing with her."

"Yeah man," agreed another one of his teammates. "And to think if you got the leads in this Shakespeare play… you have to kiss her..." He made a face. The rest of the team stared at Troy with equally horrified expressions.

"You have to kiss her!" Chad exclaimed, looking absolutely appalled.

Troy smiled inwardly at the thought but gave his teammates a shrug. "It comes with the role."

"Man, you must really be a good actor to pull that off," commented Jason.

Troy frowned. "Hey look, it's no big deal. Maybe I could even enjoy it."

His teammates looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Well come on, she is kinda cute," Troy defended. "Right Zeke?" he turned to the boy for support. "I mean, she's a good kisser, right?"

"I wouldn't know," said Zeke. "I never got the chance. She dumped me after she told me she only liked my cookies. Anyway, I'm over her and I prefer to see Sharpay only as a good customer for my baked goods."

It was his turn to be the receiving end of incredulous looks.

"What? She buys a lot of them from me now. She even helps me market them by distributing them to friends. She's okay in that, but I have no intention of locking lips with her anymore."

Troy didn't know why, but he felt good learning that Sharpay didn't kiss Zeke. At least that was one guy he could cross out from the list of people that he suspected Sharpay had kissed before him. He had been wondering lately exactly how much experience Sharpay had in the kissing department to be as good as she was when she kissed him last Monday.

"Hey, you okay?" Chad held up a hand over his face. Troy realized he was staring blankly, lost in thought of Sharpay's kissing abilities.

"Yeah, fine. We have to go in now."

They all entered the theatre where a crowd had quite grown. It seems like more people gained interest in auditioning this time, no doubt inspired by the success of the previous musicale. He left his friends in their seats and proceeded to find Sharpay. She was sitting next to Ryan in the fifth row. She didn't look up when he sat down next to her but continued to watch the other auditionees.

There were a few good ones, but a lot of them had the same attack of stage fright as the last auditions, especially now that there was a bigger crowd in the audience.

Troy scanned the area for Gabriella. She was nowhere there. He checked the sign up sheet everyday for her name but she never signed in. Still, he figured she would come to the auditions anyway.

"I don't think she's coming," Sharpay whispered to him after several minutes.

"Why?" he asked.

"Heard from the grapevine. There's another scholastic competition coming up. She won't have time for the production."

Troy was a bit disappointed. He was hoping this was a time to show up to Gabriella and to everyone else he wasn't grieving about her.

"You alright?" she whispered and he felt her hand squeeze his. A thrill shot up from his fingertips to his head and he squeezed back.

"Fine, really fine."

She retracted her hand but kept it within close proximity to his. A tempting thought came to his head and suddenly his fingers where snaking their way to find hers. When he touched her, she didn't retract and allowed his thumb to stroke the back of her hand. He would have gone on doing it but then Darbus called out their names. He abruptly let go of her hand before Ryan could see it and allowed her to go a few paces ahead.

Standing under the stage lights always gave him a thrill but this time walking on with Sharpay made his heart skip a beat.

The opening notes began and he sang a spirited and amusing banter with Sharpay while she retorted back accusing him of being misguided on his love. He challenged her with offer for a dance. She hesitated and stepped away from him. A jolly little chase ensued all around the stage, amidst riotous cheers from the audience. Finally, Troy tripped her and she came crashing into his arms, her eyes staring at him. She made one last soulful retort before he replied back:

"Peace, I'll stop your mouth!" The piano slowed to a romantic air and he pulled her down to a kiss. They always faked it during rehearsals. Sharpay taught him the technique that she used with Ryan whenever they got romantic leads together in their previous plays. But as Troy pulled her face close to his, he was suddenly aware of how much he longed to feel her lips again. Instead of cupping her face and turning his lips slightly to the right, he dove right down center and captured her upper lip with his. He felt her body stiffen in surprise but he didn't let go. Slowly, she began to relax, and then he felt her responding to him, challenging the pressure of his lips with her own.

It could have been several seconds—perhaps more. Kelsi's melody was forgotten, the piano became silent. When Troy finally emerged, Sharpay was staring at him wide-eyed and out of breath. He quickly remembered where he was and he looked at Kelsi, who was also wearing an expression similar to the blonde in his arms, without the flush. He jerked his head at Kelsi and she recalled she was supposed to be playing their background song. She fumbled over the keys and started again. The song was back to its upbeat pace. Troy twirled Sharpay into a fast foxtrot and they sang together in perfect harmony while keeping up with their fancy footwork. After a final series of complicated steps, they posed and bowed, hands clasped together.

There was a long moment of silence—a really long moment. Troy looked at Sharpay worriedly and silently asked her: _Was it that bad?_

She smiled at him and mouthed: "Wait for it."

There was a single clap from the dark house below. Then another, and another, and finally thunderous applause.

"Amazing! Stupendous! Oh Brava!" shouted Ms. Darbus from the crowd.

Sharpay prompted him to do another curtsy and they both bowed again before she whispered in his ear: "That is what you call a delayed reaction. It's better than a direct applause. It means they are too stunned by how good we are it takes them a moment to react."

Troy grinned to himself. He had never experienced something like that, not even in basketball and he felt an unusual amount of euphoria.

"I doubted before about your unusual pairing!" Miss Darbus continued to shout out above the noise. "But you were perfect! Simply perfect for each other."

Sharpay gave him a triumphant smile. There was still a deep shade of red on her cheeks and he knew he was equally flushed. Troy smiled back at Sharpay. At that moment, in these awesome lights he felt again like he was on top of the world and he couldn't agree with his drama teacher more.

The applause finally died down and Ms. Darbus could now be heard clearly. "As there are no more sign-ups for the pairs' auditions, I believe we have found our Benedick and Beatrice. Callbacks for the rest of the cast will be posted shortly—IS THAT A CELLPHONE!"

"No ma'am, that was the lunch bell," replied Kelsi.

The teacher calmed down. "Ah—well then, off you all go," she said as the people in the house began to exit. Ms. Darbus turned back to the three of them on stage: "Good job, I think you're all familiar with the drill. Work on this together and this will be our best show yet. Sharpay, wonderful lyrics, by the way."

Troy turned from Sharpay to Kelsi and gave them puzzled looks.

"Sharpay wrote the libretto," explained Kelsi. "Shakespeare baffles me, so I let her do it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He turned to Sharpay and was surprised to actually see her blushing.

"She was worried it wouldn't be good," teased Kelsi with a patronizing smirk that reminded Troy immensely of Sharpay herself. He snorted at the idea that something of Sharpay's personality had been rubbing off on Kelsi more and more each day.

Ever since the first musicale, Kelsi had gone from a quiet little mouse into a growling tiger. The past week Troy had seen exactly how ferocious she could be. She no longer cowered before Sharpay but met her head-on. She and Sharpay battled every single day at rehearsals though half the time he didn't understand why they were fighting. Now he understood why Kelsi kept saying: "Stick to your lyrics, and I'll stick to my music!" Who would have thought that Sharpay had a hidden talent for writing lyrics?

He expected Sharpay to add something nasty but all she could come up was: "Oh shut up, Nielsen!" She was too busy blushing, obviously taken aback by Kelsi's praise of her work after they had been at each others' throats for days. Troy suspected from her blush that Sharpay's writing librettos was one aspect where she was not at all confident. Sharpay not confident in something? That was new. This day was turning out to be full of surprises.

"Look, Sharpay," said Kelsi. "I give you credit where it's due. Your libretto was good, I don't expect praises from you for my music, but in the future with the other songs, I would appreciate it if you respect the way I write my music—"

"Your music is good," Sharpay said in almost a whisper.

"What?" Kelsi demanded.

"You heard me the first time. Don't push your luck that I'll say it again," Sharpay retorted. Troy watched their spat with fond amusement. He remembered the first time that Sharpay showed him one of the songs when he was at her house. She was all praises for Kelsi's music. He knew that deep down, Sharpay admired Kelsi's work, and perhaps she may be a bit insecure about that fact. He realized though that Sharpay admitting that out loud to Kelsi was a scratch on her pride.

"Thanks Sharpay, it was great working with you too," said Kelsi. Troy knew she was sincere despite the overly cheerfulness. Kelsi picked up her notes and stood up. "See you at rehearsals, and congratulations!" She jumped off the stage where Ryan was waiting to catch her below. Kelsi giggled as Ryan gracefully twirled her in his arms. Sharpay's eyes goggled at them with surprise. Ryan kissed Kelsi's mouth then returned Sharpay's gaze with a raised eyebrow and a sneer, as if challenging his sister to say something. The look on Sharpay's face was priceless. Troy couldn't help but roar with laughter at her dumbfounded expression but he ended it abruptly when Sharpay gave him a death glare. They watched the pair below as they skipped up the aisle to the exit, hand in hand.

"That-that… little bitch… and… my brother?" she said slowly.

Troy just shrugged and decided to distract Sharpay before she blew up. "Come on, let's have lunch together," he offered as he led the way towards the stairs on the right wing of the stage. Sharpay stomped in after him wordlessly. However, when they got to the area of the stage hidden by the curtain from the audience, he was startled when Sharpay suddenly tugged at his arm. For a moment, he thought she was going to take out her anger at him that he was completely astonished when her hands seized his neck and in the next instant her parted lips were on his. He was pleasantly surprised but he didn't stop to think. He kissed her back with equal fervor and his tongue started to beg entrance to her mouth.

She didn't respond the way he wanted. Instead, he felt her grin against his lips. He opened his eyes, curious to see how she looked. Her eyes were open but he realized she wasn't staring at him. She was looking past his face to something behind him. He broke the kiss and turned around to see what she was looking at.

There at the other end of the stage on the left wing stood Gabriella. He suddenly realized why Sharpay kissed him: it was just to show Gabriella up.

Sharpay grinned from ear to ear like a cat who just got her mouse from a rival tabby. She pulled at his arm. "Come on, honey. Let's celebrate our success, shall we?"

He was suddenly guilty and he felt sorry for Gabriella for having witnessed that. But when he met her gaze he was surprised to find that Gabriella looked sorrier for him.

_**

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much to all you wonderful, wonderful reviewers. They really inspire me to write more. I'll be a little slow in updating in the future because I'm really so edit-happy that I don't send out an update until I've gone through it several times. Plus, I've got tons of other work to do that I can't write that often, but I promise to finish this.**_

_The scene that they performed is the last scene of the last act of Much Ado About Nothing but I didn't write any songs, I couldn't think of how to translate it. Troy's line is from the original Shakespeare text._

_I find Kelsi an interesting character and I've tried to imagine how her relationship with Sharpay could change since the first musicale. I like to see her as someone who can be brave enough to stand up to Sharpay and be a match for her._

_Again, do send me your feedback. I love reading them._


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait. I've been rather busy lately so I couldn't find time to write. Anyway, thank you so much to all those who reviewed and sent praises. I had a lot of fun writing this and I'm glad you're all enjoying them. _

**Chapter Five**

_I've tasted heaven with a devil. It was too bad my excuse for nibbling the second time around was the presence of Angel Gabriella. But I'm not complaining. I got to singe her wings and that just made my day—and what a day that was! _

_Troy kissed me, for real and on stage! I expected he had a lot more self-control, but apparently I was dead wrong again about him. I suppose the dear boy is too hungry for me by now to resist. I've seen how he looks at me during rehearsals or in the hallways or at lunch. I often catch him staring at me like a wolf eyeing for the kill. It scares me sometimes. If Kelsi or my brother weren't around at rehearsals—the only time I ever let myself get near Troy this last week—I don't doubt that he would have done something. And if he did, I know I couldn't resist him. It's hard enough trying to control myself from pulling him to a secluded corner of the theatre every time I see him and kiss him._

_His kisses just blow my mind! I've certainly never been kissed that way. Not that I've ever been kissed passionately by anyone, with the exception of my brother, and that was just—eww! (I still wince at the memory. We were a couple of stupid freshmen actors then and we had for the first time been cast in lead romantic roles. When the play required us to kiss, we actually did during rehearsals—until Miss Darbus told us it was too disturbing and taught us how to fake it.) Still, it was good practice. I probably got Troy thinking I was an experienced kisser. I'll let him keep guessing._

_Speaking of my dear, dear brother, he had some nerve showing up to me like that! I know he's been dying to defy me for a long time but I never thought he'd actually do it. I suppose he could do worse for a girlfriend. A snooty Kelsi is at least tolerable. I'm just glad he didn't choose some weirdo skater, a docile ninny, or worse, a goody-goody braniac like Gabriella. Oh alright—I admit, Kelsi is good for him. I will never say it to her, but I do admire her music and she's wonderful to work with, on a strictly professional level. But still, I have to act annoyed with the two of them for at least a week. I don't want to make it too easy for them. _

_But going back to Mr. Bolton, I can't wait to "be" his girlfriend. This would be my greatest role yet and I'm planning to be so good I can convince him, it's real.

* * *

_

Troy pulled into the Evans' driveway and was about to shut the engine of his car when he turned to find a sight that made his eyes goggle. Sharpay came running out her door, her perfect blonde hair flying, matching the swishing rhythm of the skirt of her red dress. She got into his car in a rush that her skirt hitched high up her thigh revealing his favorite view of late. However, her thighs were competing attention with her bare shoulders, which Troy was realizing he was growing to appreciate just as much now that he had a clear view of them owing to her sleeveless dress.

"Drive," she said curtly. "Before my parents decide to come out and make chit chat with your 'father'."

"Huh?" Troy asked, as he tore his gaze away from her bare skin.

"Drive! Now!" Sharpay urged.

He came to his senses and did as told. When they had put quite a distance from her house he remembered what she said earlier.

"What did you say earlier about my 'dad'?"

"I had to make an excuse to let Ryan drive ahead to school alone with the car. I pretended to oversleep and I told him he can go ahead since 'Mr. Bolton' offered to give me a ride on the way. Everyone at home assumes I was talking about your father. You know how my parents are with your dad."

Troy's and Sharpay's parents were something like occasional chums. It was hard not to be since they probably see each other every year during PTA meetings since Sharpay and Troy were five.

"You didn't tell Ryan about us?" asked Troy.

Sharpay raised an eyebrow.

"Not, about the deal… I mean… I assume you would at least tell a cover story to Ryan…" faltered Troy.

"Oh please," replied Sharpay haughtily. "I'm not telling my brother anything after what he did last Friday. He didn't even tell me about Kelsi, so why should I tell him about us? I'll let him get shocked with the rest of the school. I call it fair payback. By the way, did you bring your jacket?"

"It's in the back seat," replied Troy, referring to his Wildcats jacket.

"Good," said Sharpay. "I'm borrowing it."

Troy nodded. He suddenly realized why Sharpay was specifically wearing a plain red dress today. It matches perfectly with his white jacket emblazoned with the red Wildcats' logo. She really did plan for everything for this 'relationship-going-public' day. He had been looking forward to this day all weekend. He told himself it was because he could finally show up to Gabriella and to the rest of the school and erase whatever rumors still circulating that he was either grieving or gay. But a tiny thrill inside him was also longing to have an excuse for more contact with Sharpay.

They made small talk on the short drive to school about the play and homework. When they finally pulled into the school's parking lot, she stopped him from opening the door.

"Let's wait awhile," she said. "Best to come in only a few minutes before the first bell. That way we have the corridors full and we get maximum effect of a good entrance."

He grinned and shook his head at her. "You're…"

"Clever?" she asked.

"I was going to say amazing."

She beamed and it startled him how sincerely happy she looked at his praise. How he wished she could always smile like that for him. He continued to stare at her and to his surprise he saw color flood her cheeks. She turned away and rummaged in her bag for her compact and began dabbing powder on her face.

"You're already perfect," he told her and he was rewarded by another blush though she refused to turn his way.

"Hand me your jacket, will you?" she said without looking at him.

He reached over and gave him the piece of clothing. She put it on in silence. He was a little disappointed that it hid her shoulders but he rather liked the idea of her wearing something that belonged to him.

"I think that's time enough. Ready?" she asked him.

He breathed a sigh. This was it. There was no turning back now. From the moment he stepped out of the car, he and Sharpay would be officially a couple. He nodded to her and got out of the car. He moved to the passenger side and opened the door for her. He took her books then offered his arm. She gave it a tiny squeeze then urged him to walk.

They hadn't gotten more than ten steps from the door of the school building when they noticed the stares.

Sharpay cuddled closer to him and he caught a whiff of her perfume. It was lavender mixed with chamomile. He rather liked it.

"We are making an excellent entrance lover boy, just as planned."

They strode on into the hallway, seemingly oblivious to everyone. Troy had to bite back a laugh though, at the sight of his teammates with their jaws dropping open. He glanced around for Gabriella but she was nowhere in sight. However, he did catch a glimpse of Taylor looking like she just tasted something sour. He was sure Gabriella would hear about this soon enough.

They passed Ryan and Kelsi at one corner. Ryan promptly choked on the chocolate milk he was sipping and almost sprayed his girlfriend. Troy felt Sharpay fight back a giggle.

The first bell rang and the two of them headed directly to homeroom where they were sure to encounter Gabriella. When they got there, their intended target was already seated in her usual chair, her back to them, talking in her cell phone. But as they entered he caught a few whispered words from her.

"I love you too. I really have to go now, my class is about to start."

His heart clenched.

Sharpay squeezed his arm. "Don't look like that. Just look at me and smile."

Her face calmed him and he did smile. He thought it would be a forced one but it turned out to be easier than he thought.

Sharpay led him to his usual seat, but she sat next to him, in full view of Gabriella who always sat at the back. She whispered in his ear with much drama.

"Laugh. Pretend I just said something funny."

He did and he was rewarded by the sight of Gabriella looking curiously at them. She wasn't the only one though. The entire class was looking. He ignored them and instead tucked a stray lock from Sharpay's head behind her ear and let his finger slide down to her cheek. A jolt of electricity came to him at the contact with her bare skin and he pulled back in surprise.

Darbus suddenly made her entrance and he was forced to take his gaze off Sharpay. The drama teacher gave her usual morning speech, mostly about the musicale with additional praises for him and Sharpay. Troy sneaked at a glance to Gabriella, but her face was unreadable.

When the bell rang for first period, Troy and Sharpay got up together arm in arm. When they reached the classroom of Sharpay's first period, it took him two seconds before he let her go. But she gave him a wink: the signal for their first public kiss and his heart was suddenly beating with excitement.

It was supposed to be just a peck on the cheek because as she said, they shouldn't rush it so it would not be too obvious. She reached over to kiss him as planned, but he turned his face so he would capture her lips instead. It was only a brief smack and when he released her he saw for an infinitesimal second that Sharpay was startled. But then she resumed her calm superficial composure.

"I'll see you later, honey. Toodles." And just like that she skipped into her classroom.

He followed her with her with his eyes until she disappeared. He turned around and found Chad, Jason, Zeke and a host of his teammates in front of him.

"What the hell was that?" asked Jason.

"What is what?"

"Don't act dumb. You're with Sharpay! What are we missing here?"

"I'm dating her," replied Troy.

Blank stares.

"What? I'm not allowed to date her?"

Chad shook his head. "No—it's just that—it's Sharpay. Your rival?"

"No she isn't," he replied. "We've been friends since the spring musicale, you know that. She's cool."

"Cool?!" Chad interjected. "This was the girl that tried to ruin your reputation last week! Did you get a bump in the head and forgot—"

Chad stopped. His girlfriend Taylor suddenly appeared right in front of them and gave Troy one of the hardest glares he ever got in his life. "Oh please, who are you fooling? If you have to show up with a girl to save your ego, you could have picked someone better than the Ice Bitch."

He anticipated this interrogation and he knew there would be snide comments. But somehow hearing them talk of Sharpay like that hit a nerve with him and he shouted back much louder than he intended:

"Don't call her that!"

"So you're defending her now," retorted Taylor.

"Why shouldn't I? She's my girlfriend."

"Alright stop!" Zeke said as he came up between Taylor and Troy. He pulled Troy aside and spoke calmly. "Look pal, I know she may look attractive to you and all. But I think she's just using you, just like she used me."

"I know she only liked your cookies and that's why she dated you. She admitted that, she was just being honest when she turned you down," defended Troy.

"I know that and I'm not holding grudges," replied Zeke. "But still, I'm just looking out for your best interests here. She's not exactly the kind of girl you'd want to be with. She's trouble."

"Worthless slut," added Taylor.

The words hit Troy like lightning. "Shut up! What do you know about her?"

"Well she's miles away from Gabriella. You are definitely sinking to an all-time low."

He always liked Taylor. He really did, but there were times when she was just too catty for her own good and he wasn't taking it this time. "You're right, she is miles away from _your _best friend!" replied Troy. Then he added menacingly: "Because Sharpay doesn't go around cheating behind my back! If someone has sunk, it's not me or Sharpay!"

Taylor's face wrinkled in confusion the same as everyone else. Troy realized she honestly didn't know. Gabriella didn't tell even her own best friend.

"You have some gall! Taylor shouted. "What the hell are you implying?!"

"Well why don't you ask her!" Troy shouted back. "Or hasn't she told you about her math genius, the one she's been seeing while she was still with me!"

Silence.

Troy looked around and realized he had been shouting at the top of his lungs in an entire corridor full of students. Now everyone knew. This wasn't how the plan should go. He didn't want the details of his break-up with Gabriella out. He just wanted her to be jealous.

And to make things worse, Gabriella just walked out from the bathroom herself and now everyone was staring at her. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she ran back into the bathroom with Taylor following her heels.

Troy slapped his own forehead and turned away towards his classroom. If he hadn't turned away so fast, he would have seen Sharpay partly hidden by the door of her classroom. Her eyelids were also glistening with tears.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Here's a short chapter, but one completely in Sharpay's POV, I think it's long over due, as my reviewer Aubrey requested. I'm amazed by the number of "omgs" and praises I got in my reviews. I'm so glad you're all enjoying it. There's more drama coming up in the next few chapters (I haven't written them yet, but I got the plot mostly mapped out although the details are still hazy). Do review and tell me what you think.

**Chapter Six**

_I couldn't believe it. Troy Bolton stood up for me! I didn't think he would ever do it, certainly not for me. This couldn't be happening? This is all a dream and I would wake up soon._

_But no, I wasn't dreaming. Everyone was talking about it. Before even my second class was over everyone was asking me if Troy and I are an item and if Gabriella was a cheater. Of course, I confirmed the first part and I would be more than willing to confirm the second. But, I was feeling generous for the day and so my standard reply was: "I don't really want to say. That's her affair and I prefer it to be buried."_

_There, I'm not confirming or denying and I get plus points for being the good new girlfriend who does not muckrake the reputation of the ex. Besides, I didn't need to add to the fuel. A vague answer always does the job. People will always have their own conclusions. And conclusions always add spark to the gossip even more. _

_I was in cloud nine before third period and I was walking the halls like the queen of the world when Troy grabbed me by stealth and brought me to the parking lot. He went on with it so fast I didn't even have time to kiss him in public. He opened his car door and indicated I should go in. Puzzled, I did, and he got on the other side._

"_Bolton, there's no crowd in here to watch us make out and we're going to be late for class. That's not an effective way to show up to people."_

"_That's not why I brought you here. We need to talk," he said seriously._

_I raised an irked eyebrow at him. "Alright? Talk."_

_Troy breathed a sigh. "What do we do now?" _

_Is he backing out now when everything was going so well? I raised my eyebrow a centimeter higher. I'm quite talented in that. "What do you mean, what do we do now? We stick to the plan." _

"_It's already ruined. Everyone knows."_

"_Everybody knows Gabriella cheated on you. Not the fact that I'm pretending to be your girlfriend."_

"_It doesn't matter. They'll figure it out," he reasoned._

_I rolled my eyes at him. "No they won't. Not unless you told them." And I sincerely hope he didn't or he'll have hell to pay. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"_

"_Of course not. But I just thought…"_

_I turned fully on him, and I was prepared to argue to have my way. "You are not going to back out on me now? We had a deal! I pretend to be your girlfriend until we graduate and you get back on your ex!"_

_I was rewarded by Troy cowering. "I just thought… well, it's pretty useless now…"_

"_What do you mean useless? So everyone found out she was a cheater, boohoo. She deserved it. But you on the other hand don't need anyone finding out you asked me to pretend to be your girlfriend so you can get your revenge. If they find out, your reputation as Mr. Goody-goody goes down the drain. Do you want that?"_

"_Well… no…" _

"_Then keep to the—" _

"_Yes, I will." _

"_Good, now we should go back in there."_

_He nodded and we both got out of the car. Troy offered his arm and I took it. I nestled in his arm as we walked together. I remembered how he defended me this morning and I never felt happier in my life. I was feeling so blissful I couldn't help myself. Even before I could think, I turned to him._

"_Troy?" I whispered._

"_Yeah?" _

_I pulled his face down and brushed my lips across his for a second. It was just a chaste kiss, but I meant it without any pretenses._

_He looked at me with a puzzled expression but smiled that enigmatic smile of his. I felt my cheeks grow warm and I turned away, feeling embarrassed to be smiled at like that._

"_T-that's for… defending me… earlier…" I stammered and I could have kicked myself. I never stammer. And now I was doing it in front of Troy Bolton, of all people. What was happening to me?_

_The second warning bell rang and he pointed to the door of my classroom. I didn't realize we had reached my class, or that we were still the center of attention from my classmates within. _

"_See you later," he said._

"_See you," I nodded weakly as I turned to my seat in front of class. Gabriella was in this class as well and she was sitting two rows from me. Right now, she was looking down at her English textbook as if her life depended on it, but I knew she witnessed my parting with Troy. She continued on avoiding my gaze. Everyone else's eyes were bouncing like ping pong balls between me and her. But there was one set of eyes that met me head-on and there was no mistaking the look in disapproval in them: Ryan's._

_I knew he would have said something, but I was saved by the arrival of the teacher. For the next hour and a half, I turned my attention to the lesson at hand: Shakespeare's Macbeth, one of my favorites. This day was turning out so well for me._

_Too bad, it ended when this class did. _

_When the bell for lunch rang, I got up as fast as I could to meet Troy. But I hadn't gone five paces when an arm grabbed me from behind and a hand covered my mouth to keep me from screaming. I recognized my brother from the designer cologne he always marinates in. I was too startled with the way he half-lifted half-dragged me to the empty theatre I didn't even have time to react. What is it with the men in my life today that they have to drag me like a Neanderthal to talk to me?_

_When he finally let go I was ready to attack him for what he did, but I was again surprised me with…_

"_God, Shar, I have never been so disappointed in you!" _

_Disappointed? The word just startled me as something that Ryan could use. _

"_Why are you throwing yourself to someone who is obviously on the rebound?" he asked. "He's just using you to make him feel better about himself."_

"_I don't know what you're talking about," I replied. I tried to get away but he barricaded the door with his body._

"_Shar, I know you don't care about what people say about you, but for once listen to me! I know you've always carried a torch for Troy Bolton—"_

"_I do not carry a torch for Troy Bolton!" I defended and I would have said more but this time, Ryan cut me off._

"_Yes, you do! I've seen how you look at him. I'm not blind! And don't think I don't notice how he looks at you either! He may lust after you, but don't deceive yourself that he wants you for you."_

"_What are you saying? That I'm not good enough for him?" I demanded. We were already screaming at the top of our lungs. I had never screamed this way at Ryan before, not with so much rage. It was a good thing he picked the theatre, at least it was soundproof from outside._

"_No," he said calmly. "You're too good for him."_

_My anger melted. I was touched, really touched by what he said. And I would have hugged him then and there had it not been for what he said next:_

"_Don't let him use you as his comfort whore."_

_I slapped him. I never did that to Ryan, but for the first time, I did. I opened the theatre door to stride out but he gripped my arm with his hand._

"_Ryan, let me go!" I screamed. _

_The noisy hallway outside grew silent but I was past caring. I shook my brother's grip away and stood up to him to my full height, which is still a few inches shorter than his. _

"_I know what I'm doing, so leave me alone!"_

_I walked away from him and he didn't follow me. The stares from the other students however, did follow me and I shot back at all of them: "What are you staring at?! Mind your own business!"_

_I kept my icy demeanor on, but inside I was breaking. What Ryan said hit a nerve in me. Why did he have to say that when I thought I had some semblance of hope that Troy was already falling for me? It wasn't true. It can't be true._

_Troy was waiting for me at the corner by my locker with his teammates, but I couldn't bring myself to be with him now. I brushed him off and went to the bathroom. I entered one of the cubicles and finally let myself break down. _

"_Sharpay? Are you alright?" _

_It was Kelsi. I couldn't let her see me like this. I couldn't let anyone see me like this. I wiped away my tears and forced myself to calm down. I have to go out there again as if nothing happened. Troy is waiting outside and I can't keep him waiting for long. Everything would be alright. Ryan was wrong. I was the one using Troy more than he was using me. He could never hurt me. He couldn't, could he?_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Here's a full chapter in Troy's POV and a bit more of Ryan. I think he deserves some more appearances. I don't think he'll be one to just let his sister be. I'm grateful again to all the reviews. You've been really wonderful readers. Sorry if I'm going slow, I've got loads of work to do so I haven't had much time to write but I'll update again as soon as I get a chapter out.

Puddleduck. troypayluv. Yes, I wish I was an HSM writer so I could change the plot for HSM 2 and make Troy end up with Sharpay. But since, I'm not I'll just have to be content to write stories for you guys who read here in – I'm so glad you liked it enough to want to marry it.

XBeautifulbabe405X – Don't worry Gabriella will get what's coming to her, but maybe not in the way you think.

SilverxxMoonlight – Rest assured there will be more Troypay action, and as for your other suggestion, this chapter may be an answer.

A Dawn Delivery – I love putting twists to stories, it gives a fresh look. I'm glad you like it.

charmarctravis – Ryan is disappointed in Sharpay for throwing herself at Troy. I think the Evans twins put a lot on their pride and Ryan is pointing out to Sharpay that what she's doing is something below her. To Ryan, she's letting herself be used by Troy and he's disappointed in her for doing that.

**Chapter Seven**

Troy finished sandpapering the wooden windmill paper weight he was making for woodshop class. He stared at his work and shook his head. Two of the blades were bigger than the other three. He swore, if ever he had to earn a living out of making wooden items, he would starve. A windmill paperweight was probably the simplest carving project ever and he still sucked at it. He noticed Zeke at the next table finishing off a finely carved angel head wall hanger and he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. Zeke's talents certainly extended beyond the kitchen. Troy wondered what other creations his teammate ever did that he gave to Sharpay in the few weeks they dated. He looked down at his windmill again and thought it a worthless piece of junk destined for the trash bin after it was graded with a D at the most.

The lunch bell rang, and all of Troy's thoughts returned to Sharpay. This would be their first official lunch date together as a couple. He was sure the rumors were currently circulating again just as bad as last week. He managed to avoid being interrogated since this morning but now there was no more evading it. Lunch time would provide ample opportunity for his teammates to question his newfound relationship, especially after his revelation this morning about Gabriella.

He dropped his wood project into his bag and was the first one out of the classroom. He waited by Sharpay's locker and silently prayed she would come before Chad or any of his teammates appeared.

He should have prayed harder.

Sharpay didn't show up. The entire team did.

"What?" he asked as if there was nothing amiss.

Chad steered him to an empty classroom.

"Hey! I've got to meet Sharpay—" he protested, but it was pointless to resist. They shoved him in but it was only Chad who entered with him and closed the door.

"We're just concerned about you," Chad began. "I got the story from Taylor and you were right. Taylor's really sorry about what she said to you this morning. She didn't mean to accuse you like that, she didn't know."

"She talked to Gabriella?" Troy asked.

"Yes, in the bathroom this morning. But they're not talking now. Taylor's pretty pissed with her too for keeping her in the dark. Some friend she was," smirked Chad. "Good riddance."

Troy breathed a relieved sigh. He was glad Chad understood. "So can we go now?" he asked as he moved to the door.

"Not so fast! That's just half of what I have to say. There's still that issue with Sharpay."

Troy didn't know why but he was suddenly in defensive mode. He crossed his arms across his chest. "What about Sharpay?"

"Dude, I know you're well off with Gabriella but jumping from her to Sharpay isn't exactly the best way to a road of recovery. More likely you're pushing yourself for suicide."

"I am not on the rebound. I really like Sharpay." He had to smile internally for he wasn't lying. She was really someone he was growing more and more attracted to.

Chad threw his hands in the air. "We are talking about Sharpay Evans, for crying out loud! Hello Troy! Can I just remind you what she has done in the past: she bosses people everywhere she go, she tried to sabotage your chances of winning the part in the musical in January while we were on the championship game and last week she called you gay. How could you possibly like her for that?!"

Troy thought Chad didn't even know half the things Sharpay had done to him: there was squeezing his injured hand, trying to run him over with a car, insulting him at every turn and she almost got his head smashed on her windshield with her horrid breaking. But even with this evidence and Chad's reasoning, he just couldn't shake away his own feelings. He still liked her and he had no answer for his best friend.

"I don't know. There's something about her…" he shook his head. "I just do, alright."

It was Chad's turn to shake his head. "Man, you've got it bad." He gave a defeated sigh. "I know I or the rest of the team can't force you to do anything. I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

Troy thought he didn't have an answer for that one either. But he was sure he liked being with Sharpay.

Chad let him go but offered his hand. "Hey, but if ever things get down, you know we've got your back."

Troy shook his best friend's hand. "Thanks."

They both got out of the classroom. Their basketball friends were waiting to meet them. Chad nodded silently to them. Troy knew there was bound to be a conference about him on this, but he knew he could trust Chad. They wouldn't meddle with him unless they thought they needed to.

"What are you staring at?! Mind your own business!"

Troy recognized that voice as Sharpay's and it was coming from the next corridor. Seconds later, Sharpay appeared with the power of Moses, parting the crowd of students in the hallway like the Red Sea.

"Hey, off to lunch?" Troy asked pleasantly as he offered his arm.

She didn't even look at him. She passed him and murmured curtly: "In a minute."

Troy made to follow her but she entered the girls' bathroom. His face wrinkled in confusion for a minute. Was it something he had done?

"Out of the way, please. Excuse me!" said a small female voice behind him. He stepped aside and Kelsi suddenly shot past him. He wanted to ask her to check on Sharpay for him but she disappeared into the girls' bathroom before he could get a word out.

"Bolton!"

The harshness of his own name startled him. He turned around and saw Ryan standing there his eyes hardened and his lips pressed together in a thin line. It was quite a startling appearance. Troy had never seen Ryan Evans look this… serious.

"We need to talk," he said evenly. He eyed the basketball team. "Alone."

Troy's eyes shifted to his teammates then back to Ryan in confusion. "Alright." He turned to his friends. "I'll see you guys in the cafeteria."

Ryan made a hand gesture that pointed to the next corridor where Sharpay came out from. Troy followed him down the empty corridor until they reached the end of it which was the doors of the theatre. Troy thought this had something to do with the musicale—some dance routine or other that they needed to work on. After all Ryan was their unofficial choreographer. He was startled then when Ryan punched him on the shoulder effectively putting his back to the theatre door.

Troy was about to protest a question, but Ryan answered it for him.

"Whatever you're doing to my sister I want you to stop it right now!"

"What are you—"

"She's not some sex object you can exploit, Bolton!"

Troy's mouth gaped open. He had never seen Ryan this angry before. Whatever doubts Troy had before that Ryan was adopted were now completely erased. Ryan was every inch as menacing as his sister when he wanted to be.

"I never thought of her as—" he began but Ryan didn't let him continue.

"Save me the saintly denials. You don't think I don't see how you've been undressing her in your mind every time you look at her."

Troy bit his lower lip guiltily and hung his head. Ryan was absolutely right and he had no excuse for that. But when he thought about it, it wasn't as if he was the only one doing that. Half the boys in his year had probably looked at Sharpay that way at one point or another. So why was Ryan on his case?

"You think just because you're the all-star player and now you're the theatre star too you can take whatever you want. Guess what, I'm not letting you take Sharpay like some towel you can wipe on every time you need to sweat."

"RYAN!"

Both Troy and Ryan looked up. Sharpay was standing there looking murderous. Kelsi stood behind her and a few paces back were all Troy's teammates who were looking ready to diffuse the situation, by force if necessary.

Sharpay walked up and placed herself between Troy and her brother. She matched her twin's glare with her own and for a long time Troy wondered who would win. Neither did, it was a matching stalemate until Sharpay spoke again.

"Mind your own business, Ryan. I don't tell you who to date." She glowered at Kelsi before shifting her gaze back to her brother.

Ryan gritted his teeth and finally backed off. Kelsi tugged at his arm and led him away, but he cast one last glance at Troy then muttered:

"You hurt her, I'll make sure you'll never play basketball or even stand at another stage again."

"Come on Ryan, let's go," urged Kelsi. Ryan let himself be led away by his girlfriend. Troy turned to Sharpay.

"Don't listen to him. He doesn't know anything," she whispered to him. Then she added out loud in her usual honey-sweet voice as if nothing happened: "Come on honey, let's go off to lunch." She claimed his arm and they walked passed his stunned teammates who followed after him.

"You alright?" Chad asked when he caught up to them. "What happened there? After you left, Kelsi came out of the bathroom with Sharpay and when she asked for you we told him you were with Ryan and she marched off to find you here."

"I'm right here Danforth, you don't have to refer to me in the third person," complained Sharpay.

Chad sneered at her. "Sorry," he said sarcastically. "I thought you were—"

Troy shot him a warning look.

Chad looked guilty. "Nothing okay, sorry." Troy was grateful his best friend was making an effort to be civil. But he didn't want to test Chad's generosity by insisting he and Sharpay stayed at their usual jock table for lunch, especially when they opened the cafeteria doors and the whole room went quiet as everyone stared at them.

"Look, Sharpay and I will just order something to go and we'll go have lunch somewhere else. I'll see you guys later."

Sharpay gave him a puzzled look.

"I think we've had too much showing off today," he whispered to her. "Let's not overdo it."

"Alright."

They ordered two sandwiches, an apple and drinks and marched out of the cafeteria. As soon as doors were closed the talking ensued. The cafeteria doors of course, weren't soundproof and they could hear bits of what was said floating around.

"…Ryan threatened Troy…"

"…He's just on the rebound… it's not gonna last… "

"…She's totally taking advantage of it of course… what a slut…"

"…Well he still benefits anyway so either way, he doesn't lose…"

Sharpay suddenly began walking faster away from the cafeteria that Troy had to keep up with her.

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded, but Troy didn't buy it one bit. He put an arm around her

"It's just stupid gossip, it doesn't matter, isn't that what you said?"

She smiled. "You're right. Come on, let's find some place else worthwhile. I got just the thing."

It turned out to be the theatre again. Sharpay led him to the same dressing room where she found him that first Friday afternoon. Troy thought he would hate this room, but he didn't. Better here than in the cafeteria filled with people who had nothing else better to do but to gossip about him and Sharpay.

Sharpay suggested they did their homework while eating. Troy suspected she didn't want to talk so they munched in silence while reading their respective books. Well at least, Sharpay appeared to be reading. Troy was too busy watching her while his thoughts were raging inside him.

What Ryan said shook him for there was more than a grain of truth to it. He did lust after Sharpay quite often and when he started with this deal, he didn't really think of Sharpay as someone with feelings. He admit he liked her because she was sexy, a good kisser and made his blood race. But being with her this past week made him realize how much he enjoyed her company and some sort of friendship had formed between them. He didn't really want to lose that. Even now, just sitting next to her in silence while watching her eat her apple, he felt at ease.

Sharpay suddenly looked up between bites and eyed him curiously. "What?"

Caught off guard, Troy suddenly blushed and was unable to give an explanation.

"You want a bite?" she asked, offering the half-eaten apple.

"Uh-yeah… it looks… really juicy…" he said lamely. He wanted to hit himself on the head. She would never buy that excuse. Really juicy? It had such a sexual connotation to it. Sharpay would think his head was in the gutter again and he didn't want her thinking that was all he was after, after what Ryan said.

Sharpay wordlessly handed him the apple with her sticky fingers. He sank his teeth into it where her teeth marks ended.

"Rrreeally good," he said while munching. _Damn! _He winced inwardly at just how that sounded. _It just keeps getting worse._

"Don't talk with your mouth full," she said evenly.

He swallowed the apple and muttered. "Sorry." He handed her back the apple.

"All yours," she said without looking at him and he wondered if he offended her. She resumed her silence and he was left with nothing to do but finish the apple and attempt to read. He couldn't concentrate on physics so he rummaged in his back for English. As he pulled out a text, something else came out and rolled on the table they shared and stopped next to Sharpay's book.

"What's that?" she asked.

Troy saw that it was his flawed paperweight woodcarving.

"It's supposed to be my woodcraft class project."

She picked it up. "What exotic flower is this supposed to be?"

"It's not a flower. It's supposed to be a windmill."

Sharpay laughed and he was glad that the earlier tension seemed to have faded. "Windmills usually have four blades not five, and they usually have the same blade size."

"It's not my best work alright. I'll probably get a D in it."

"D?" she said incredulously. "Dream on, if I was your teacher, I'd give you a downright F."

"So I'm bad at woodcarving, okay."

"Ahhh, so I've discovered another flaw of Troy-Mr. Perfect-Bolton."

"I'm not perfect you know, I never said I was."

She smiled at him. "Yes, I'm glad you're not. Because if you were, I wouldn't be sticking around you. You wouldn't be interesting at all."

She stood up to examine his paperweight in the light, her back turned to him. He stood up behind her. "You find me interesting?" he whispered as he put his hand on her shoulder and he heard her breath hitch.

The bell signaling the end of lunch rang. Sharpay shook away from his grasp and gathered her bag and books. "We have to go, don't want to be late for class."

Troy felt disappointed but did the same to his things.

"Are you seriously aiming to submit this?" she asked indicating his windmill—odd flower paperweight that she still held.

"Yes, there's not much I can do about it, just paint it gold I guess," he shrugged. "Deadline's in two days I don't have time to carve something else."

"Mind if I hang on to it then?" she asked. "I could paint it for you if you want."

"Do whatever, it's worthless anyway."

Sharpay tucked it in her bag. They walked together out of the theatre and before they opened the doors, Sharpay linked her arm with his.

"Show time again," she said as she plastered a smile on her face. "Look happy."

"Do we always have to do this?" he asked. "Pretend that everything's alright when we know they're all talking about us?"

"Welcome to my world, Troy," she replied with false cheerfulness that lined her sarcasm underneath.

That line was typical of Sharpay, but Troy suddenly found a whole different meaning in it. He realized that she had never uttered a more truthful sentence in her life. Sharpay endured everyday of her life like this. He realized how lonely it must be. He looked at this girl next to him with her overly bright smile and knew this was just a form of escape, a way to cope. He wanted so much to tell her that she didn't have to hide for him that he understood, but he knew she wouldn't let him in either. Not yet.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

_As much as I hate to admit it, Ryan was right. I should have known better than to delude myself. I knew it at the start. Troy's attraction to me could never go more than the physical. Even when we were alone together in the theatre during lunch, I could tell he has a one-track mind. If I didn't look or act the way I did, he probably would never even give me the time of day. Guys like Troy Bolton need to two things: a massage for their ego and a way keep appearances to protect their reputations. I can deliver both which is why he hangs around me._

_Well, two can play that game. If I have to play his whore then so be it. But I'm making sure I get paid. Good boy Troy Bolton is all I need to become the Queen of East High. I have to admit I lost my popularity footing with most of the students when I tried to sabotage Troy's first audition during the championship game. But I can show everyone I can regain my title and Troy is going to help me do it. I'm going to be his perfect girlfriend and I'm going to win everyone over, starting with the basketball team._

_And of course, there's the play to look forward to. Troy always brings out my best performance. Our chemistry is excellent, even better than me and Ryan. I'll make the school gossips fall in love with the two of us together on stage and I'm one step closer to becoming Prom Queen. Plus, I know there will talent scouts on the audience on premiere night. That's the kind of promotion I need to get into a top performing arts school like Julliard. _

_The only downside is losing Ryan. I didn't think my brother was capable of hating me. But I think he does now. He gave me the silent treatment after that incident with Troy in the theatre. He ignored me completely, so I was forced to ignore him too. I'm not going to admit I was wrong. _

_I suppose I have to win him over eventually, along with Kelsi. I have to convince them that Troy and I are sincere in this relationship with each other. They're probably the hardest to convince since they know me so much. Even Kelsi comes closest in reading me more than any other girl in school. It's funny, I think we've always have opposite opinions but she seems to be one of the few people who genuinely care about me. After my encounter with Ryan in the theatre, she was the one that sought me out in the bathroom and asked me if I was alright. It was as if she knew, without even seeing me that I was crying my heart out there. The only person who could figure that about me before is Ryan. It's like she's channeling his instincts lately. _

_But perhaps the hardest thing for me is being with Troy Bolton itself. Why does he have to be so sweet at times that I almost think… No! I can't go there. I can't let myself fall for him. I just have to remind myself this is just a deal, with specific conditions that provide us mutual benefit. It's just a deal, nothing more._

_So why did I spend two nights staying up until past midnight re-chiseling and painting his stupid woodcraft project?_

* * *

"Did you bring my project?" Troy asked Sharpay as soon as he got into his car Wednesday morning. She kept it from him for the last two days and refused to give it back. But now he was getting desperate. It was due first period and he had no idea what Sharpay did to it.

"Relax," she said. "It's in my bag."

"Can I see it then?" Troy asked.

Sharpay shook her head. "When we get to school," she said. "Now drive before Ryan comes out. I'm not in the mood for one of his glares this early in the morning."

Troy started the engine and drove off. "You're still not talking to Ryan?"

Sharpay huffed.

"I don't really want to be the cause of you two arguing. Maybe you should talk to him."

"I'm not talking to him," she snapped. "Not after what he did."

"Then maybe I should—"

"Don't!" she warned. "Just stay out of it alright and I don't want to talk about it either."

Troy decided to let the issue slide. Sharpay was always touchy on the subject about her brother and he didn't want to get her upset so early. He turned the topic back into his project. "So what did you do to my windmill?"

"It's a surprise," Sharpay replied.

Troy gave her a fearful look. He never knew what to expect when Sharpay said those words. In fact he never knew what to expect whenever Sharpay said anything at all. She was that unpredictable.

Sharpay rolled her eyes at him. "What are you worried about? Anything I do to it can't be any worse than what you did to it anyway."

When she put it that way, she did have a point. What could be worse than getting an F on the project, which is certainly what he would get if he submitted it as is.

Sharpay began to sing one of the duets from their musicale. Troy joined her and he soon forgot about the project or Ryan. For the rest of the journey they sang together like crazy, making up voices, improvising on the songs and laughing at the more ridiculous ones. It was one of the things that Sharpay got him in the habit of doing and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

When they finally arrived in school, Sharpay opened her bag and pulled out something colorful and handed it to him. It was a pen holder decorated with a large flower colored white that faded to purple at the tips of its delicate yet uneven sized petals.

"This isn't my project," he said.

"Yes, it is," she said.

He stared at it. It was so different from what he gave her two days ago. "You did this?" he asked, surprised. He didn't know Sharpay was good a woodcarving and her color scheme was excellent.

"No, I bought it," she said sarcastically. "Of course I did it. When you have an artist for a father, you learn more than woodcarving and painting. I've had workshops with him since I was about two. He made me do everything from kidney bean dioramas to mezzotint."

Troy had no idea what a mezzotint was and he had absolutely no clue how to do a diorama out of kidney beans. But whatever artistic training Sharpay had he was grateful for it. He had never failed any subject in his whole life and he thought he was going to finally tarnish his perfect school record. His father would certainly have something to say about it. Now it appears Sharpay just managed to save him and he was touched by her gesture.

"Sharpay… I don't know what to say…" he began, but he suddenly had an idea and he moved closer to her, aiming to kiss her thank you. But she moved away from him.

"Save it for the audiences, Troy," she said before she opened her side of the car door and got out.

He scrambled out and followed after her.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks. I really appreciate it."

"I didn't do you a favor. I just don't want you getting a failing grade and marring that perfect school record. You have to keep an image, Troy. That includes your grades. If I have to be with you, I have to make sure you're still perfect in everyone's eyes," she said snootily before walking away from him.

Troy was taken aback, but even more he was disappointed. He thought Sharpay really sweet doing something for him, but it turned out to be still a part of her plan to keep appearances.

Sharpay turned back when she was almost near the school entrance. She raised an irked eyebrow at him. "Hurry up, Troy, we're going to be late."

_Late? _He puzzled. They had more than fifteen minutes before homeroom. But he didn't say anything and caught up to her. She linked her arm with his and her irritated expression turned to a smile as if a switch turned her on automatically.

They walked the halls with her snuggling close to him like they did for the last two days. When they got to her locker where a lot of students were already milling around, she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him passionately.

Previously, when she kissed him in public like this, he responded. Yesterday at dismissal time, they even went as far as shocking the whole school by French kissing every ten steps from their last period class to the parking lot. It got so bad, Chad disgustedly shouted at them to get a room.

But now, he pulled away from her abruptly as he realized what Sharpay was doing: She would only show affection to him in public. He realized that everything Sharpay did was a calculating effort to show up to everyone.

"What are you doing?" Sharpay whispered to him though she still had that plastic smile on her face.

He shrugged. "Let's just go to homeroom," he said as he led her to their classroom. He let her hang on to him. She pretended to giggle at something funny that he said and he played along with a half smile though it was hard to do so as he passed by the other students staring at them. A lot of the cheerleaders would glance at Sharpay with looks of disgust in their faces then turn away to gossip among themselves. He had no doubt they were talking about her again and he hated it.

Homeroom passed uneventfully with Miss Darbus gushing about the play as usual. He didn't even have time to look at Gabriella who remained in her usual seat in the back as quiet as a mouse. He was grateful for first period when he had to part from Sharpay to go to woodshop class. Not surprisingly, he got an A on the pen holder and his teacher praised him for his good use of color. But he couldn't feel at all happy about it.

He had a free period next, while Sharpay had Home Economics. He didn't stop by to pick up Sharpay and bring her to her next classroom. Instead, he went straight to the theatre. It was empty at this time and he was finding it as a sanctuary more and more these days.

He sat by the piano and placed the penholder on top of it. He stared at it in silence, while thinking about Sharpay when he heard the door open then close quickly. He was sure someone entered.

"Hello?" he called out. He couldn't make out the person in the dark but he could hear the sound of heels on the squeaky tiled floor.

He waited until the figure emerged into the light. It was Gabriella.

"Troy, can we talk?" she asked tentatively.

He stood up and crossed his arms across his chest. "I have nothing to say to you," he said icily.

She ran up the stairs so fast, she was beside him on stage in a few seconds. "Please," she begged. "I really think we need to clear the air. I need to explain."

He shrugged, but it was enough of an invitation for her.

"I didn't mean to hurt you Troy," she began. "It's just that I fell in love. I didn't mean to lie to you."

"Well you did for three weeks," he retorted

"I was confused. I didn't know what I was feeling. I was with you and I liked you, but Michael was there. I didn't know what to feel. I didn't want to say anything to hurt you when I didn't know if what I was feeling was right."

"So you just waited, tested both of us at the same time? Is that it?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry. I know you have every right to be mad. I was wrong, I admit that."

"Does he know about me?" he asked for that questioned had bothered him endlessly since that night he saw them together.

She nodded again. "He was the one who told me to tell you. He made me choose. Troy, believe me, it was the hardest thing for me to do. But when he threatened to walk away, I knew I couldn't lose him. I'm sorry."

"And you didn't even tell Taylor?" he accused.

"I couldn't. Chad is her boyfriend. She would tell him and he would tell you. I couldn't tell anyone in school. I know it may be difficult for you to understand, but it's not that easy for me either." Tears were now freely flowing down her cheeks.

He had been looking forward to something like this, some confrontation with Gabriella since they broke up. He pictured it a hundred times in his head. He would finally get his ultimate satisfaction in watching her beg him to come back to her. When he was finally satisfied seeing her humbling herself, she would either let her back—or crush her further by saying no. He was quite undecided and he played the image of the scene according to his mood. But now that it was really happening, somehow it wasn't giving him the fulfillment he was expecting. Seeing her cry like that didn't make him feel any better. It just annoyed him. He didn't want to see her beg him at all. He just wanted her to leave him alone.

"You don't how horrible it feels to live those three weeks confused and guilty and no one to talk to about it," she continued hoarsely then swallowed hard. "I'm not expecting you to forgive me, Troy. There's no excuse for what I did. I just wanted you to know that what I did, I didn't do it out of malice. I really do care about you, as a friend."

He said nothing and he wished she would just go away. She said her piece and he wanted to put it behind him forever. Somehow, he just didn't care anymore what she had to say or about the whole incident with them.

But she didn't leave and she spoke again. "Troy, about this thing you're having with Sharpay…"

"What about it?" he said irately. His voice hitched a notch higher at the mention of Sharpay.

"Troy she's exploiting you. I know you're vulnerable right now, but don't let her take advantage of that. I don't want to see you get hurt by her. She'll destroy you if you let her."

He was suddenly angry at her. How dare she say something like that about Sharpay! "That's none of your business. It stopped being your business when you dumped me. So stay out of my life!"

"Troy, please. I only want to help you out. I'm concerned… as your friend—"

"Friend?" He threw his hands up in exasperation. She had some nerve. "You expect me to be friends with you after what you did. No Gabriella, you are not and will never be my friend, ever again."

"But she's using you!" Gabriella insisted.

"And how would you know that?" asked Troy.

"Because of what she is!"

"And what exactly is she?" he challenged.

"She's a mean, selfish, inconsiderate bitch who wouldn't hesitate to sell her body to anyone if it meant she'll gain something out of it!"

If she wasn't a girl, he would punch her. "Don't you call her that! You don't know her! Nobody knows her!"

"And you think you do?"

"Yes!" The word was out of his mouth and when he did he suddenly realized how true it was. No one else had ever gotten so close to Sharpay but him and perhaps, Ryan. But no one else ever saw her vulnerabilities like he did.

Gabriella sighed. "Why are you doing this to yourself Troy? If it's just because of me… it's not worth it. Why Sharpay? Is it because you think it would hurt me?"

He thought about it. Yes it was true, well at first it was. That was his initial plan. But now it was more than that. And he was proud to say it in all honesty as he realized why: "Because I care about her."

Gabriella's face sank and she looked at him sadly. "T-troy, I-I'm so sorry—I didn't realize…" She composed herself. "You're right it's not my place." She walked away but turned back before she came out the doors. "I just hope she deserves you."

He watched her go, but he wasn't really seeing her. In his mind he was seeing someone else. It was Sharpay's lovely face. He thought again of how the whole school looked at her with him and he realized how much he had been instrumental too in why they all saw her as a slut.

He collected his penholder and left the theatre just as the period bell rang. He went to find Sharpay. She found him first. She came running from behind him and hugged him over-excitedly before pulling him for a kiss in the middle of a corridor full of students. He pulled away, grabbed her arm and wordlessly marched her back into the empty theatre. He heard bristles of disgust from the students they passed. They obviously thought he was taking her there to make out with her. Someone even went as far as shout at him to use protection.

He ignored them all and gripped tighter at Sharpay. He didn't let her go until they reached their usual dressing room. He was beginning to think of it as a room he and Sharpay shared together as a refuge where they could be just themselves without the need to make appearances.

"Troy what is wrong with you? We could have spent a few more minutes making out there before next period."

"Stop it!" he cried. "Just stop it! Can't you hear what everybody's saying?"

She shrugged. "I'm used to it by now."

"Well, I'm not! I just want it to end, now."

"What do you mean?" she asked and her face turned accusatory again. "Are you planning on backing out again, because if you are—"

"No, I don't mean that." He shook his head. "I mean stop overdoing it. You don't have to act in public with me like…"

"Like your whore," she finished for him.

"I didn't say that."

"But that's what you meant, isn't it?"

He bit his lip uncomfortably. How could he make Sharpay understand that he didn't want her being talked about and seen by the rest of the school like some common girl he was just using for his own pleasure? "Look, all I'm saying is that when we agreed to the deal, you agreed to pretend to be my girlfriend. I don't want people looking down at you. This scandalous way we're making out isn't helping."

"So are you saying we should stop?" she asked haughtily. "I thought this was what you wanted. Didn't I tell you I'd perform public displays of affection with you?"

He sighed and wrung his hands. "I don't want this. I'm not saying we stop, but we could at least tone it down to a minimum. Be… I don't know… natural." He knew he was stumbling but he was finding it so difficult to explain to her. "Sharpay, I hope you understand…"

She gave him one her of her fake smiles. "Oh I understand completely."

"Sharpay, I really do care about you. I just don't want people saying things… you know what I mean…"

She held up a hand to stop him. "Don't get your tongue all tied. You don't to have to explain. I understand Troy and I'm willing to comply. That's the next bell, we should be getting back."

He offered his arm, but she didn't take it.

"Go ahead. I'll follow in a few minutes. I don't want to be seen as too clingy from now on. I think it's best we're seen detached from each other every once in a while," she said evenly.

Troy nodded and took off with an odd feeling that he didn't really get through to Sharpay the way he intended. He walked to his locker and placed the penholder inside. He paused to stare at it for a minute, touching the smooth petals with his index finger. It was finely made and Sharpay obviously spent a lot of time with it. If he hadn't known any better, he would have thought she made a labor of love out of it. But her words of dismissal and the way she turned away from him when they were alone came to his mind. He shook his head and slammed his locker door.

_**A/N: **There you go, for those of you who were waiting for a reaction from Gabriella, I finally wrote one, although I don't think it's the one you're expecting. I can only assure you that she will be back, but perhaps not in the way you would imagine._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

_Yes, I understood his request completely. He doesn't want to be seen with a slut for a girlfriend. It would hurt his reputation if he did. I suppose I've been overly eager to perform our little make out sessions, I might have overdone it as he said. I certainly hadn't made headway with winning over Troy's friends in those first three days and I must have made a complete fool of myself. He doesn't maHe _

_I guess he is right. I could win over the school by being a bit tamer. But it still hurt that he had to say that. It was insulting and I hate it._

_Yet I did what he asked. I let him dictate me how to act because I was so scared he would leave me if I didn't. It's too complicated to back off now. I have too much to lose. If we "break up," my chances to regain my reputation would go down the drain._

_So I played his pretend girlfriend in public for more than a month and it appeared to be working well. I'm finally starting to convince the whole school our relationship is real. Well, almost the whole school. Chad Danforth proved to be as stubborn and perceptive as my brother. He's civil enough with me but he obviously still mistrusts me around Troy. If Troy is the king of East High, Chad is his right-hand man. His opinion still matters if I want to completely win everyone over. Some of the basketball team members and all the cheerleaders still look to him for an opinion and I know how much influence they have with the rest of the student body. _

_Taylor too doesn't think I'm good enough for Troy either. But I don't really care much about her. Nobody cares what she thinks anyway except for the braniacs and those people tend to sympathize more with me than their former scholastic teammate champion. _

_Gabriella's pretty much a pariah in school now. No one talks to her anymore. She just goes to class then disappears. No one knows where. No one really cares or bothers to find out. If she's invisible, everyone is too glad. But it just goes to show how much power Troy holds around the school. You mess with him, the whole school turns against you. I have no intention of making the same mistake Gabriella did. I'm making sure I'm on the good side of Troy and be his perfect partner. It certainly has its perks. I've never felt so liked my whole life. No more snide comments or names like "Ice Queen" or "Mountain Lion." _

_Ryan is another matter though. He still refuses to talk to me, even after more than a month. I miss him so much. He was the only one I could go to before to cry and I hate not being able to bring out my problems to him. Kelsi's been a comfort though. She's my indirect link to Ryan whenever I need to send a message to him. She kept trying to get us to make up. But I wouldn't because he wouldn't do it first. _

_I try not to think of it all. It's just too stressful, especially when I still have the play to work on and college applications to worry about. Rehearsals are getting to be particularly exhausting, especially since I wasn't playing with Ryan this time. Troy doesn't let me bully him like Ryan did when it comes to rehearsals so we often end up arguing. We always make up after, for practical reasons of course. We can't really let anyone know that we don't exactly have the perfect relationship. _

_With everything going on, doing my regular homework seems to be the most relaxing thing in my life right now. In fact, I'm finding homework rather comforting because I usually do it with Troy. That's probably the only time we ever hang out together alone. I would come to his house or we would spend our time together in our usual dressing room in the theatre. He never tried to show affection to me when we're alone. He knew I wouldn't like it and I was ready to snap at him if he did. It was odd but even without the physical contact, I somehow enjoyed his company more. Those study sessions were the only times we could just be friends and even in a few short hours I could pretend everything is fine. _

* * *

She curled in a corner in tears, a picture of suffering. He knelt beside her tentatively, unsure of how to comfort her 

"You're crying," he whispered.

"Isn't it quite obvious?" she retorted back sharply, though he knew it was only because of her misery.

"I hate to see you like this," he said.

"Then leave me, you don't have to watch."

"I believe your cousin was wronged. Is there a way I can help? As your friend?"

"There is a way, but I don't expect it of you. It is not for you to help, as a friend."

He paused then offered with firm resolution. "As your lover then?"

She stared at him with open-mouthed surprise at his revelation. He grew bolder and cupped her face with his hand, wiping her tears with his fingertips. "I love you and I know you feel the same way."

She pulled away from his touch, got up and turned away from him. "Don't say it if you don't mean it."

He followed her, pressing his chest to her back and his arms wound around her. She didn't resist and he pressed his cheek against hers. "I mean it. I love you."

He felt her shiver with his touch and he could see her bite her lower lip as a single teardrop fell down her smooth cheek.

"Then God forgive me," she whispered.

"For what?" he asked, a small smile playing his lips.

She turned to him slightly, her lips curling into a smile too happy for words. "I fear, I was going to confess…" she stopped to meet his eyes and he could see them glittering with affection. "I love you."

His heart raced at those words and for a moment he almost forgot where he was. But then her face hovered inches from his own and he softly kissed her, enjoying the taste of her lips. His hand moved to stroke her hair and deepen the kiss but she pulled away and he noticed a split-second arch of her eyebrow. He quickly uttered his next line:

"Tell me, what can I do for you?"

The look of love disappeared from her face completely and she stared at him with cool eyes that thirsted for revenge.

"Kill Chad," she uttered in such a calm voice it was frightening. His face wrinkled in confusion at what he heard. _Did she just say… Chad? _He pulled back in shock and he shook his head.

"I-I can't!"

There was a sudden fury in her eyes and she pulled away from his embrace. "Then you're lying to me. You don't love me at all. Goodbye!"

"Sharpay!" he cried out.

"Stop!" came the call from the stage below. Miss Darbus moved closer to the stage and her face was illuminated by the lights. "Bolton, the line is supposed to be 'Beatrice!'" corrected the drama teacher.

Sharpay stood across from him with her arms crossed on her chest looking put off. "For goodness sakes Troy, it's opening night tomorrow, get your lines straight!" she snapped.

Troy huffed angrily at her. She had been crosser with him than usual in these last few weeks of rehearsal. It was getting on his nerves. "Hey, I wasn't the only one who got their lines mixed up."

"What are you talking about?" Sharpay demanded.

"Just now, you said the wrong name too. You said 'Kill Chad.'"

"Excuse me?" Sharpay exclaimed. "When did I say that?"

"A few minutes ago. You said 'Kill Chad,' instead of 'Kill Claudio.'"

"I did not say 'Kill Chad,'" retorted Sharpay.

"She's right, Bolton," said Miss Darbus. "She said 'Kill Claudio' just as usual."

"You really need to get your ears checked Troy," said Sharpay haughtily. "Or maybe your head. You're either hearing things or you think I'm off to kill your best friend. And while you're at it, better get your focus back. You almost missed your cue."

"What cue?" he asked though he knew what it was.

"That line after you kissed me," she replied. "Get your head straight in this play and not on…" she stopped. But her meaning was clear. She thought he was lusting after her again. He flushed guiltily.

"Stop it, both of you!" Miss Darbus cried. "I think we've worked hard enough for today and I think you could both use a break. It's always stressful the night before opening so I think it would be beneficial to let you relax. Go home, get some sleep and we'll meet here at nine tomorrow for one final rehearsal."

"And you better get it right then, Troy!" said Sharpay.

"Sharpay, enough!" Miss Darbus snapped. "Except for that one line, Bolton's performance today couldn't have been more perfect. I especially liked how you played that expression when she asked you to kill Claudio, Bolton. The hesitation, the confusion, the fear—you got it down just right. Do that again tomorrow. Now go, I want you both well-rested."

Troy was glad for the praise, but he wasn't acting. He really thought he heard her say 'Kill Chad.' He shook his head. He was probably tired or maybe it was some sort of psychological effect of his current relationship with Sharpay and how she stood with Chad.

They had been going out for more than a month now and he found not a single boring moment. Sharpay was a force of nature that he found exciting and terrifying at the same time. She played sweet and coy one minute and a raging bull the next.

She made good her promise of taming down the public displays of affection so he could again walk down the corridors with her without cheerleaders wrinkling their noses at them or hearing obscene whispers. They hanged out together: sat next to each other at lunch, watched movies on Friday nights with his other friends and did homework together at the nearby café. In all these public events, she was the picture of natural sweetness, though not as overly done as before. Eventually it was enough to convince most of the members of the basketball team that they even tolerated her presence at the jock table. Only Chad and a few others seemed to keep their distance and continued to distrust her, though it was Chad who was the most vocal about it. He wasn't one to forget easily. He kept a civil tongue around her but he made it clear he didn't want to be friends either. Troy figured perhaps Chad's objection to Sharpay was starting to affect him, for that was one aspect of his relationship with Sharpay that bothered Troy most.

Sharpay still made Troy's head spin and his testosterone level jump whenever they made intimate contact, though they never did so in private. He never attempted to even do as little as hold her hand when they were alone. He knew she wouldn't approve of the gesture. So he was content to just spend time with her even without physical intimacy. It was a lot less complicated that way and it allowed them to enjoy each other's company as friends. She made him laugh, she made him angry and she made him want to cry on a regular basis. She made him feel things to the extreme. But most of all, she let him show a side of himself he never dared to show others. She encouraged him to tell her his honest opinions on just about anything, never mind if they were dark or were considered unthinkable for someone with a clean image as him. She never flinched with sensitive subjects like Gabriella. She was open to just about anything for discussion and so he enjoyed talking to her. She was smart in her own way and always had an opinion in any given topic.

When it came to their rehearsals for the musicale in private, however, Sharpay was all professional with him. She drove him almost mad with her perfectionism and she didn't hesitate to shout at him if he made one mistake. They had endless fights when it was just the two of them or only Miss Darbus was present, but they always made up and resumed their rather odd friendship.

After another fight like this, he was confident they would make up later. Right now though, he didn't have the energy to make peace. Sharpay had been particularly edgy lately. He understood that it was stress, especially when she found out local theatre critics were coming to see their play tomorrow night. Sharpay had told him all about her ambition to get into a good performing arts school in college. They applied together for several colleges and she already received a few acceptance letters. Still, she was waiting for the prestigious ones. He knew how much this play mattered to her to impress. He too understood the pressure, though he knew Sharpay was carrying a heavier weight. He, at least had the safety net of a basketball scholarship at any given college. She only had her theatre talent to rely on.

He went to his dressing room and changed into his normal clothes then picked up his bag. The theatre was already empty as it was another Friday afternoon. He and Sharpay usually were the last ones to leave. He passed by Sharpay's dressing room. It was slightly open and saw that Ryan was there. It was the first time Troy saw him anywhere near Sharpay since their argument.

They were talking in low voices so Troy couldn't hear. He decided he shouldn't pry so he went ahead to his car. By then, he had already calmed down from his earlier spat with Sharpay and wondered if he should wait for her. They always drove together to and from the school since she and Ryan refused to even come near each other, much less share the same car. After almost fifteen minutes of waiting, he went back to the theatre but found it was empty. He sent her a message, saying he would go ahead.

He reached home but never got a message from her. He assumed she made up with Ryan and went home with him. By nine in the evening however, without a single message from Sharpay, Troy rang her cell phone. She didn't pick up. Finally, he called her landline. Ryan answered.

"Is Sharpay there?" he asked, uncertainly. He pulled the phone a little away from his ear as he anticipated Ryan slamming the phone down on him. The slam never came.

"Yeah, we went home together," replied Ryan evenly. He paused before saying rather hurriedly: "She's asleep now."

"Oh," he said, rather disappointed that he hadn't even a chance to make up with her. He considered leaving her a message, but he wasn't sure if Ryan was willing to take it. He didn't exactly know how the two of them stood.

"Aren't you going to leave a message for her?" asked Ryan in the same even tone.

"Er… could you tell her, I'd like to talk to her as soon as she wakes up."

There was a moment of silence on the other line and he wondered if Ryan was contemplating another death threat to give him.

"Can I ask you something?" Ryan's question startled him.

"Yeah… sure…" he answered tentatively.

There was a sigh at the other end of the line. "Do you care about Sharpay?"

"Well, yeah, she's my girlfriend…"

He heard Ryan bristle nastily. "Cut the girlfriend crap, Troy. I know about the deal, she told me tonight. Don't worry, I'm not telling anyone. But I just want to know, honestly." Another pause, then softly he added: "Do you care for her?"

Troy didn't have to deliberate. "I do. I value her friendship and I would never deliberately hurt her."

"That's all I need to know," said Ryan before adding in a lighter tone: "Break a leg tomorrow then."

"O-okay…" replied Troy. He still wasn't sure if Ryan was still mad at him.

"Oh and Troy, make up with her first thing tomorrow. She gets like this every time before opening night, she's nervous. Be the bigger person alright, and make your peace."

"Thanks," he replied with immense relief. Somehow Ryan wasn't out for his blood anymore and he was glad. He hated to be at odds with Ryan since he had been quite helpful in the past in their choreography. Plus, he suspected Sharpay was missing Ryan more than she let on and he hated seeing Sharpay upset.

He hung up and dug in his bag for his libretto. He was surprised that he had two sets. He realized Sharpay left hers with him. He would just have to return them tomorrow along with an apology. He figured it was a good excuse as any to see her earlier that usual tomorrow morning. He lay on his bed, stared at the ceiling and let his imagination run wild. Perhaps he could say sorry by bringing her flowers. He imagined himself knocking on her door with a bouquet in his hand. Sharpay would open the door look at him, stare at the flowers, take them from his hands…

_And smack the bouquet on my head before slamming the door in my face,_ he thought. _Nope. She'll find it too corny._

He thought of climbing her window, ala Romeo to sing her a song from their play. It did work before with Gabriella. He would climb the trellis by her window since Sharpay didn't have a balcony. He would knock on the pane of her glass. She would come, open the window and see him there…

_Then shut the window down and smash my fingers in the process,_ he winced. His hand was already healing nicely. He didn't want another injury so soon.

He thought of a hundred other ways to play sweet to her and apologize but the realistic image of Sharpay's personality always came into his mind. It killed each plan as it entered his head.

He finally gave up thinking and sat singing all the songs for the play and recited his lines. He knew he should be sleeping but he was too excited and nervous with the performance tomorrow. It was the same thing that happened to him in the previous musicale. He couldn't sleep until past midnight due to anxiety.

After going through the script about three times, he glanced at his clock and saw that it was a quarter to twelve. He should be getting to bed.

His cell phone suddenly beeped. He opened it and saw that Sharpay sent him a text message.

"Open ur window."

Confused, he went to the window to open it, but stopped. There, standing on his backyard stood Sharpay.

_**

* * *

A/N:** The part of the play Sharpay and Troy were rehearsing is again my translated version of Act IV Scene 1 (Lines 276 to 315) of Much Ado About Nothing. I thought the conversation between Benedick and Beatrice there was rather fitting with Troy and Sharpay's current relationship, especially with regards to Chad. I see Chad as someone who isn't easily swayed by his previous impressions of Sharpay. In the film, he was the one who's always calling her names. _

_Again, I have to say thank you so much for all your reviews. Sorry if this got a bit delayed in the update. I suddenly had a plot bunny running in my head and I was a little distracted. After this story I might make another, but it's a little different from this one._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

_I stomped into my dressing room huffing. It was dark inside with only lights from the dressing table on but I didn't bother to turn on the ceiling light. I hated it when my co-actors mess up in rehearsals, especially one before opening night. But I hated it more when Troy was messing it because he is too distracted by kissing me. I should be flattered that he is that attracted to me. But I'm not. It only served to remind me that all he wants is getting me in the sack. He's probably getting frustrated by now that I refused to be intimate with him when we're alone. He's making the most out of it when I have to kiss him on stage, the bastard. _

_But damn it, I can't deny I did enjoy that kiss, and even more his proclamations of love. It sounded so real the way he said it. It was just the way I pictured it in my head when I wrote the script early this school year. Troy was even the one I imagined playing Benedick when I wrote it. But I mustn't think of it… it's just a play, and him saying those lines on stage is the closest thing I could ever hear him say "I love you" to me._

_I headed to the couch with the intention of lying down for a few minutes to rest my aching head and relieve the stress. I was startled when I noticed a figure in the shadows move in front of me._

"_Who's there?" I asked menacingly. The figured emerged into the light from the mirror. It was Ryan. He walked past me to turn on the ceiling light and we faced each other directly for the first time in more than a month._

"_What do you want?!" I shouted._

_He stared down at me coldly. A smile played on his lips as if he finally caught onto something that he could use against me._

"_It's nice to know that you don't give Bolton an easy time," he said. "At least, not any easier than you did with me."_

"_What?" I asked in confusion._

_He continued to sneer at me. "You don't really have an ickily-sweet disgustingly perfect relationship with him like you appear to be to the rest of the school, don't you?"_

_Damn it! He must have heard Troy and I arguing. He knows now that we're not exactly the perfect couple together. He probably suspects our relationship isn't real either._

"_So what?" I shouted at him. "Look, Troy and I argue sometimes… when he makes mistakes with his lines—"_

"_You give him hell," he finished and this time his sneer disappeared to be replaced by a genuine smile. "And I'm glad you do. If you didn't, I'd really be disgusted to call you my sister."_

_I opened my mouth to retort but I couldn't find anything to say. I wasn't sure I understood what he said. _

_He came forward, knelt before me and tilted my chin upwards with his thumb and forefinger to close my mouth. I didn't even know it kept hanging open. _

"_Shar…" he whispered my name. I've never felt anything more comforting than the sound of my own nickname when Ryan said it without the sarcastic tone that he always used lately. I just stared at him and I knew that he missed me as much as I missed him. He took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze._

"_Tell me, why do you do it?" he asked. "Why do you go pretending you're all sweet with Bolton to the rest of the school? I know you. You're not like that, you have a reason."_

_I squeezed his hand back and I knew I could trust him. Besides, I hated keeping secrets from Ryan. _

"_I'm not really his girlfriend," I said slowly. "We had a deal. We pretended to be together so he can get back at Gabriella and he wouldn't lose face to the rest of the school. In return, I get a popularity boost and a good partner for the musicale. We're just going to pretend to go out until graduation."_

_He breathed a sigh that could have been relief but he still looked worried. "But you don't let him… well, I mean… when you're alone together… you don't really…"_

_I gasped in indignation. What did Ryan think of me? "Of course not! I'm not sleeping with him, if that's what you think! I don't even let him touch me when we're alone. The only intimate gesture I ever give him is the one we do in public and on stage." _

_Ryan's face lit up and this time he gave a truly relieved sigh. "I suspected as much and I'm glad. I love you, Shar." He hugged me and I hugged back. I couldn't believe how easy it was to make up to him. I knew we didn't have to apologize to each other anymore. _

"_So this is just a deal?" he asked when he finally let me go. "You don't really feel… I mean, I know you like him before, Shar. Don't get me wrong. I'm just concerned about you. I don't want to see you get hurt…"_

"_I don't. It's just a deal, Ryan," I assured him although I was lying. I liked Troy, in fact if I was totally honest with myself I was falling for him, even if I tried so hard not to._

_Something in what I was thinking must have showed in my face for Ryan's shoulders drooped and he gave me a look of concern._

"_Shar…" he murmured sadly. Blasted twin intuition! He knows. I couldn't lie anymore so I returned his dejected expression and let him draw my head to his chest. I felt myself collapse in this simple gesture. It was only with him that I could do that. Suddenly the tears that I've been keeping for so long came down my cheeks. I let him pat me and stroke my hair with his fingers._

"_He doesn't like me back, Ryan," I cried. "You're right. I know that. I know what he wants. But I won't let him."_

"_Then why do you keep on with this charade?" he asked. "Why Shar? When you know there's no hope."_

"_But I can't quit now, not when it's already working," I sobbed. "I've got almost all of them convinced. If I let it go, then they'd I'd look like the loser. I've got too much to lose."_

"_But you're not exactly convincing Troy Bolton. Sharpay, you're digging a deeper hole as long as you keep like this. Better quit while you're ahead."_

_I pulled away from his embrace, wiped at the tears and stared at him. "I can't, and I won't," I told him. "Not now."_

_Ryan bit his lower lip and gave me the same disappointed look when we first argued. But there was no anger in his face, just concern. "Look, I understand the situation. You have the play and everyone's opinion to worry about. I'm not going to ask you to stop now, but I'm begging you, don't entertain a hope that this is real. If you do, then you're setting yourself for heartbreak."_

"_I won't," I smiled at him. "You know me." I put on my ferocious pout. _

"_Yeah, I know you too well, Sharpay Evans." He tweaked my nose like he used to do when we were little kids to annoy me. "Just be careful and if you need me, I'll be here for you."_

_I retaliated by tweaking his nose the same way, but I got a message across: that I appreciated him being supportive of me._

"_Come on, let's go home," offered Ryan._

"_Troy's waiting for me," I said._

"_Leave him," said Ryan. "He won't die if you don't get into his car for one afternoon."_

"_I'll send him a message then," I said as I reached for my phone. Ryan, however, wrenched my cell phone away from my hand._

"_No," he said firmly. "You don't have to report to him every single time. Get that in your head, Sharpay."_

_I should have felt indignant at this, but I realized my brother was right. I wasn't Troy's real girlfriend, so why should I be the one worrying about him missing me? I have no obligation to if I stuck by the rules we set on the deal. _

_Ryan set my phone to silent mode and I didn't protest. I felt empowered already. He helped me grab my stuff and we walked together out the theatre to where he parked our car. He tossed me the keys and I smiled at him. It was like he knew by instinct that I missed driving our Saturn._

_We talked of college applications and other far off things on the drive home. I realized how much I missed talking to Ryan. We always had the same interests and more often were on the same wave lengths. _

_When we pulled into our driveway, I felt my phone buzz, indicating a message just came in. But I didn't check it. I brought my bag with my phone up to my room and left it there while we had dinner. Following dinner, Ryan asked to watch an old musicale with me. He said it might help me relax for tomorrow and I agreed. _

_It was nine in the evening when Ryan and I got up to our rooms. That's when I noticed my phone blinking, indicating a call. I resisted the urge to answer it until it finally stopped blinking. But five seconds later, the landline rang. I saw from the caller ID that it was Troy. Ryan's head popped into my doorway and I knew he also saw the number from his extension. _

"_I'll talk to him," he said. "But pick it up the same time as I do so you can listen in."_

"_What are you going to say?" I asked, worriedly._

"_I'll just brush him off," he said. "Now go, on three: one, two, three."_

_We picked up our respective phones at the same time but only Ryan said "Hello."_

"_Is Sharpay there?"_ _I heard Troy asked. He sounded really worried._

"_Yeah, we went home together," Ryan replied. He looked at me desperately as he searched for an excuse for me not to talk to Troy. I made a gesture with my hands that I was sleeping. "She's asleep now," Ryan said._

"_Oh," Troy replied then he was silent. I wondered what he was thinking. Perhaps he's feeling uncomfortable talking to Ryan._

"_Aren't you going to leave a message for her?"_ asked Ryan.

"_Er… could you tell her, I'd like to talk to her as soon as she wakes up."_

"_Tomorrow," I mouthed silently to Ryan. But he had a sudden smirk on his lips._

"_Can I ask you something?" Ryan said to Troy. _

_My eyes widened with surprise. I didn't quite catch what Troy said back. I mouthed indignantly: "What are you doing?"_

"_Trust me," he mouthed back with an evil grin. Then he added loudly to Troy: "Do you care about Sharpay?"_

_How dare he! I wanted to kill Ryan right now but I was distracted by Troy's answer._

"_Well, yeah, she's my girlfriend…"_

_Hah! Typical Troy, a safe vague answer. _

_Ryan, however, bristled at him. "Cut the girlfriend crap, Troy. I know about the deal, she told me tonight. Don't worry, I'm not telling anyone. But I just want to know, honestly." He stopped for a moment to look at me, then: "Do you care for her?"_

_My heart hammered in my chest. He was going to say no, I just knew it. He'll say it was just a deal and nothing more. _

"_I do. I value her friendship and I would never deliberately hurt her."_

_I couldn't believe it. So he does care, even if it is just in a friendly way. It wasn't really what I'd hope for but at least it was better than nothing. I barely heard what my brother said to Troy, I was too elated. When he finally put the phone down, the same time I did, he gave me one of his enigmatic smiles._

"_Well… he cares about you—"_

_He didn't get to finish his sentence for I rushed towards his room and flung myself at him sending us both collapsing on his bed. I half-wrestled him on the bed and peppered his face with kisses._

"_Sharpay, get off me!"_

_I gave him two final big wet kisses on each cheek before I finally got up from his chest. He emerged wiping his face with his hands, looking disgusted._

"_Yuck! That's really gross, Shar, especially since I know where your lips have been. Now I have essence of Basketball Boy all over me." He gave a sickened shiver._

"_Oh shut up, Ryan!" I replied as I threw a pillow into his face. He threw it back to me, stuck his tongue out and headed to the bathroom where he splashed water on his face and rubbed in soap extra hard. I knew he was just doing it to annoy me but I didn't take offense. Besides I was just so happy and so full of love for him at the moment._

_He emerged patting his face with a towel. He sat down next to me at the edge of the bed._

"_As I was saying, Troy does care for you Shar. I'm inclined to believe he wasn't lying, but don't get your hopes too high up. He likes you as a friend, not as a girlfriend."_

"_Thank you very much for bursting my bubble," I bit back. I knew Troy meant that as only friends, but Ryan didn't have to spell it out._

"_Shar, I just want you to be realistic. I know this is a hint of hope and perhaps Troy could come to like you as more than a friend. But there's also a possibility that he won't. Don't be mad at me. I just want you to be careful."_

_I knew he was right and there was no use arguing again over that. If it was anyone else but Ryan I would have made another outburst that could probably set us fighting again. But given the circumstances, I decided to shut my mouth and agree with him._

"_Don't worry, I'll be careful."_

"_Good, now you should get some sleep. You have opening night tomorrow."_

_He kissed my forehead and I winced dramatically. "Ewww… now I have essence of Composer on me."_

"_Awww, come on Shar. I know you like Kelsi, admit it."_

"_She's not so bad," I replied. "But I don't want to be kissed by lips that touched hers." It was my turn to wash my face. Ryan just laughed. I knew everything was alright between us. We said our goodnights and I headed back to my room and closed my door. It was still early but I sat in bed a long time thinking of Troy. I had a sudden inspiration in my head and I grabbed a pen and my writing notebook and began scribbling lines. I worked on it for a long time, crossing out a few words, replacing them, running through then over and over until I was satisfied with the two stanzas and a refrain. I tried to hum a tune for it but I wasn't much of a music writer. I supposed I have to give this to Kelsi to work on. It could be the start of another musicale._

_When I finally looked up at my clock, it read 11:05. I was still wide-awake and I could think of nothing to do but long to see Troy. I grabbed my cell phone and found Troy's earlier message. _

"_Went 2 theatre, didn't find u. Wil go ahead. Txt me if u nid a ride home. Wil come back for u."_

_My heart melted. That was sweet of him to offer to come back for me. I was tempted to call him right now, but I thought maybe he was already asleep. I didn't want to bother him. I decided to just rehearse my lines to distract myself from thinking of him until I grew tired. But when I rummaged through my bag, I couldn't find my libretto and music sheets. I must have left them with Troy. _

_I paced around, wondering what to do. I was still full of energy I had to dispel it somewhere. I finally decided on taking a walk. I grabbed my phone and house keys and crept down stairs. Ryan and my parents were all asleep by now and I didn't want to bother them. I left the house like a burglar and wandered around the neighborhood. It was quite safe to walk around alone but it was rather cold. I wished I put on some warmer clothes instead of just a tank top and shorts, but I didn't want to bother going back._

_I imagined the songs of our musicale in my head and I began singing to myself, imagining Troy there with me. Eventually, I found myself dancing on the empty sidewalk like an idiot. It didn't really matter though, as everything was completely deserted. I was so caught up in doing that, that it took a while for me to realized I was heading in the direction of Troy's house. By then I was already too far from my own home. I shrugged the sensible voice in my head to turn back and let my feet go forward to his house. _

_My eyes immediately went to his window when I arrived at his backyard. His light was still on. That meant he was still awake. I pondered for several minutes. What exactly was I doing here? Did I really mean to come up and talk to him at this late hour?_

_Against the voice of reason in my head, that sounded a lot like Ryan, I pulled out my phone and composed a message: "Open ur window."_

_I really didn't mean to send it to him. As soon as my thumb pressed on the last "W" I hesitated and thought how ridiculous this was. Unfortunately, my thumb is faster than my powers of deliberation. I accidentally pressed "send" by instinct._

_I silently screamed "No!" as I watched the icon "message sent" appear on my phone screen._

_Seconds later I saw Troy appear by his window with a look of shock on his face. There was no turning back now. He quickly pulled up the window shutter and stuck his head out._

"_Hi!" I said to him with an uneasy smile._

"_What are you doing here?"_

_Good question. I don't have an answer. I needed to stall, and I needed him to keep quiet. I put a finger to my lips. _

"_I don't want to wake up your parents…" I stopped. I just wanted so much to be near him and suddenly I blurted out without thinking: "I'm coming up."_

"_My dad's still awake checking papers," Troy answered softly. "Give me a minute to come down."_

_I panicked. I don't want Coach Bolton seeing me here at this time of night. That will be awkward._

"_Don't!" I whispered frantically. "I don't want to bother them. I'm coming through your window."_

_He gave me a puzzled look that could have matched my own internal confusion. I looked around and noticed his window was a good fifteen feet above the ground. But then I saw a tree with one of its branches extending towards Troy's window. I suddenly had the craziest idea in my life._

**_A/N: Sorry I have to keep you in suspense a little longer. I just thought Sharpay's point of view deserves to be brought out and Ryan needs a longer appearance. I promise the next chapter will be worth the wait. I'll update as soon as I finish editing. It's already written._**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **_Here you go, the chapter I promised due to the overwhelming clamor. This episode is probably the reason I assigned this story a "T" rating. Enjoy! _

**Chapter Eleven**

Troy blinked several times, thinking he was dreaming. But when he looked down again Sharpay was still there. He gently opened his window.

"Hi," she whispered up at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

She put a finger to her lips to tell him to keep quiet. "I don't want to wake up your parents." She paused for a moment, then: "I'm coming up."

"My dad's still awake checking papers," said Troy softly. "Give me a minute to come down."

"Don't! I don't want to bother them. I'm coming through your window."

Troy looked down at his window. He was on the second floor and it was a good fifteen feet above the ground. How in the world was Sharpay coming up here?

The answer came when he saw Sharpay begin climbing the tree next to his window. It was a sight he never knew he would live to see. Since when did East High's Drama Queen went out on a limb, literally? Apparently this was one side of her again that she rarely showed to anyone. It struck him as funny that she was doing 'Romeo.' He would have laughed at the hilarity of the situation if he hadn't thought it was so crazy.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She didn't respond but kept on her ascent. He rather admired her athletic abilities to climb that bark. He repeated the question.

"Shut up, I'm trying to concentrate here."

He decided that he didn't want to distract her and make her slip so he just watched her helplessly in her task. She finally reached the end of the trunk that divided into several large branches, one of which was closest to his window. She began moving towards it. It moved a bit from her weight and he was suddenly worried.

"Sharpay, I don't think that's a good idea, I don't think it can hold you."

"Relax, I'll be fine."

She slowly inched her way on the branch. Troy's heart was thumping nervously. The branch was swaying on a perilous angle. She was halfway towards his window when his heart jumped a mile as he heard a slight crack.

"Sharpay?" he said, his eyes wide with fear. Sharpay just rolled her eyes at him.

There was a second crack, and this time Sharpay could no longer ignore it. Her face also took a look of panic. Troy reached as far as he could to her, but she was still about two feet away.

"Turn back!" he said urgently.

_Crack!  
_

"No time!" she gasped and she hurriedly moved forward. The sudden movement made the branch sway violently and the branch gave way slightly, making Sharpay fall a few inches. She let out a tiny squeal.

"Catch me!" she cried desperately.

Troy's eyes widened in fear but he reached out his hands to her as she jumped. The branch fell completely with a loud noise below. Sharpay managed to grasp the window sill but slipped. Troy managed to grasp her arm. He frantically pulled her up and helped her scramble up the window. He collapsed on the floor with Sharpay on top of him and they hugged each other desperately.

"Troy! What was that?" Coach Bolton's voice rang over from outside his room. They heard footsteps up the stairs.

Sharpay scrambled to get up from him. "Hide me!"

Troy was still a bit winded and couldn't move from the floor.

"Troy!" she repeated urgently.

"Closet," he muttered.

Sharpay didn't need another word. She yanked his closet door open and got inside, pulling the door close behind her just as Troy's door burst open to reveal his father. Troy got up from the floor in time.

"I heard something break and scream," his father said. "Are you okay?"

"The branch from the tree from my window broke Dad, it was nothing," he lied.

Coach Bolton peered down into the window. "I thought I heard someone scream."

"It was me," said Troy. "I thought it was going to hit me while I was at the window."

His father gave him a puzzled look. "It sounded like a girl."

Troy bit his lip in embarrassment before stammering: "Er… I—ah… got really surprised. Sometimes I sound like that when I'm really surprised…" He gave a fake laugh but his father eyed him with mixture of confusion and embarrassment.

"It's a…" He searched for an excuse and the one he came up was: "A theatre exercise… you know… we sort of practice changing voices." He lowered his voice in the last two words. Then he changed his pitch again so it sounded annoyingly girly: "And sometimes we squeeaaaal like theees!"

The older Bolton continued to give him an odd look. "Okay… son… Voices huh?"

"Eeet reeelieeeves stress," Troy babbled, using the same pathetic high-pitched girly voice.

His father gave him a look that told Troy he should shut up right now before he sounded more ridiculous that he already was. "Oh… alright… whatever you say… goodnight then. Get some sleep." He headed to the door but turned back again. "Try not to do that too often Troy, it's just really weird." The basketball coach just shook his head and left his room.

Troy slapped his head with both hands. His father was probably thinking he was cracking up. He heard a giggle from his closet. He hurriedly locked his bedroom door, just as Sharpay emerged from her hiding place.

"A theatre exercise?" she said between giggles.

"It was the only thing I can think of," he complained.

Her giggle developed into a full blown laugh that she tried to suppress with her hand. "You're father's right, the girly voice is just weird Troy, try not to do it too often. It might become permanent."

Troy was not amused. "Oh shut up!" he said. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I need my libretto, I forgot it in your bag," she replied.

Troy eyed her suspiciously. Her excuse was as flimsy as his 'theatre exercise' alibi. "You risk your life and limbs climbing my tree at 11:50 in the evening to get your libretto?"

"Well, it's opening night tomorrow. I need to work on my lines."

Troy crossed his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow at her. That was one of the things about her that she managed to teach him. "Sharpay you know your lines back and forth in your sleep, you wrote them. And you wouldn't need the hard copy. You probably have a soft copy in your computer at home. Why are you really here?"

She blushed and he was satisfied that it was her turn to fumble for an excuse. "Nothing… I just need to see the script again… I mean the score… in case I forget the melody…" She wrung her hands uncomfortably and Troy let her for a moment. She looked adorable when she was confused. "I mean… I need to review… the third act… I'm a little off-key on the bridge…"

Troy finally decided to take her out of her misery he put a finger to her lips to stop her. "An 'I'm sorry for this afternoon' would do, Sharpay," he grinned.

She pulled away and gave him a haughty look. "Apology accepted," she said.

Troy knew he should be insulted. But he could only laugh softly, that was so typical of her not to apologize.

"What?" she demanded.

"Nothing," he said. "Friends?" he offered his hand.

She shook it reluctantly. "Yeah, yeah," she answered off-handedly.

He grinned at her. "Hey, you don't have to be nervous. I know it's the first time you're doing a play without Ryan, but you'll be fine. We'll both be fine," he assured her.

"Who says I'm nervous?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow again and gave her a lopsided grin. He liked to call that as his own version of Sharpay's 'I'm-not-buying-that-line' expression.

Sharpay gave him a defeated tut. "Alright fine, so I'm a bit nervous, happy?"

"Yes," he said teasingly. "You came to me and that just makes me feel important. I'm flattered. But seriously, why didn't you just call? I could have met you?"

"And tell your parents what? I need to see your son at midnight because I've got nerves."

He laughed. "They'll find out now," he reasoned. "How do you suppose are you going to get out of my house now that you just broke off the branch from my tree?"

Sharpay smiled. "Well, I was hoping to stay with you tonight."

Troy's smile faded and he stared at her open-mouthed. He didn't know if he heard right. Was Sharpay suggesting she slept with him here? Now? In his own bedroom?!!!

Sharpay snapped her fingers on his face. "Don't get any ideas, Bolton. I'm only here to sleep because I need my beauty rest. I'll get up at 4:30 when everyone in your house is asleep and you can let me out through the front door. Or would you rather send me home tonight and explain to your father why you have a girl in your room?"

Troy shook his head. "Uhmm… no, you could stay. I'll set the clock at four thirty, five even. No one in this house gets up until six."

"Thanks Troy. Oh and can I borrow something more comfortable? These shorts aren't the best sleepwear."

His breath hitched. Sharpay in his clothes? He always wondered exactly how she would look like and now he was about to find out. He suppressed a grin from appearing in his mouth.

"Just pick one out of the closet," he managed to reply.

Sharpay rummaged through his wardrobe and found a shirt of his. She ordered him to turn around while she changed. He did though he did so reluctantly. When she finally told him it was okay to look, he swallowed hard when he saw her. She was indeed wearing his shirt, one of his favorite dark red shirts that reached only up to her mid-thigh. It was loose on her but he still found it very sexy. She draped her clothes on a chair and he couldn't help but notice her bra sticking out from under her discarded shirt. His heart thumped at this implication.

She went to his bed and got under the covers. He just stared at her. Did she expect him to sleep on the floor? That was the gentlemanly thing to do.

"Well?" she asked point-blank.

For a long moment he just stood there stupidly staring. Then she moved a bit to the left and patted the empty space of the bed. "Aren't you getting in? We do need sleep. I don't want you falling asleep on stage tomorrow," she added bossily.

He got in and realized his bed wasn't exactly meant for two so it was a bit cramped. Sharpay didn't appear to notice though. She turned on her side, her back to him and became silent. There was nothing for him to do but to lie down himself and get some sleep.

"Troy?" Her whispered call startled him.

"Yeah?" he replied. He didn't dare move anything but his eyeballs towards her. She didn't move either.

"We'll be okay tomorrow, right?"

"We'll be great tomorrow," he reassured her. He turned to her the same time she did. He found her face inches from his. "You're great, you know that." She was so close he could feel the warmth of her face and notice the faint blush of her cheeks.

"Thanks," she smiled. And before he could do anything else, she turned his back to him again and this time she was completely silent. Troy lay down for a long time, staring at the ceiling, not daring to watch Sharpay, not when she was temptingly close to him. He finally shut his eyes after some time and breathed evenly.

He felt a light kiss on his forehead and a far away voice whisper: "I love you, Troy. You don't know how much I wanted to say that to you."

He felt her fingers slowly touch his cheek though he kept his eyes closed, savoring her touch. When her hand touched his lips he kissed her fingertips…

Sharpay's face suddenly hovered above him. He reached out to cup her cheek and his fingers moved up to thread it through her hair.

"Troy…" she whispered as she covered his hand with hers, pressing it to the side of her face.

"I love you, Sharpay. I have for a long time."

She smiled back at him then slowly brought herself down on him, her chest on his, the tip of his nose just brushing hers. He closed the last space between their lips and she kissed back with equal fervor, parting her lips to give his tongue full access to her mouth.

Her hands raked his hair as he felt her shift to straddle him, her legs parted over his waist. He felt as if his room's temperature suddenly went several degrees higher.

"I love you," he managed to whisper weakly between kisses.

"Shut up," she said before pulling away from his lips. She sat on his crotch, her neck arched and her eyes blazing with wild passion. Without warning, she tugged off the shirt she was wearing over her head, revealing her bare chest. She let him watch her unflinchingly before leading his hands to cup her breasts. The contact with this intimate part of her skin made him shiver.

He breathed heavily and he could feel her gasp just as fast. He didn't know how, but suddenly she was lying on her back with him on top of her. His chest was also bare and was pressed to hers. He was kissing her lips again then he quickly moved down to her neck.

"Troy…" The way she said his name was making him mad. He responded by trailing his lips lower to rest in the curve between her breasts.

There was a sudden ringing sound. He attempted to ignore it and go back to what he was doing but suddenly Sharpay wasn't there. It was like she melted into thin air and the ringing sound was getting more insistent by the minute. He was confused and he blinked. Where was Sharpay? And was that his bedroom ceiling he was looking at? He blinked again then shifted his gaze to the side. The ringing was still there, louder and more annoying than ever.

"Ryan… sssshhhhut the dammmmnnn thing offfff," came a mumble from next to him.

He looked up and noticed Sharpay, lying next to him, still in his shirt. Her eyes were closed but her face was crunched in irritation.

He reached to his bedside table and hit the alarm clock button that stopped the ringing. He rubbed his eyes and felt a growing sense of disappointment. It was only a dream. He probably drifted off as soon as he closed his eyes. Still, he wondered how much of those intimate images in his head of Sharpay had been real. He looked at Sharpay who was lying peacefully, her face now serene, hidden in the curtain of her hair. He figured, probably everything after she turned the second time had been just part of his subconscious. But at least she was still in his bed.

For a long moment he just watched her sleep and admired the way her chest heaved up and down. But then he remembered it was five o'clock and he had to get her out of the house before his parents got up.

"Sharpay, time to get up," he whispered.

She mumbled something intelligible. He felt a bit mischievous. He softly blew on her face. She scratched her nose and continued to sleep. He thought she looked adorable and he couldn't resist. He lay next to her very still then playfully kissed her nose. She scratched it again but still didn't wake. He considered for a moment the position they were in. His face was inches from hers, he could feel her breathing. Her lips were slightly parted, tempting him. The temptation won over. He kissed her lightly on the lips. She responded and murmured what he thought could be his name.

He watched her as she slowly opened her eyes. For a split-second he saw affection there, but suddenly her eyelids widened into shock and confusion. She pulled away so violently that she rolled over and fell off his bed with a loud thump.

"Sharpay?" he asked alarmed as he sat up and stared down at her from the side of his bed.

"Owww!" came the groan. She was sitting on the floor in a tangle with the blanket and her hair completely disheveled. It wasn't the romantic way of waking her up that he pictured in his head. But she got up as fast as she could and faced him accusingly. "What the hell are you doing in my room, Troy?"

She looked around, seemingly confused, and until the light of recognition came into her face. She realized she wasn't in her room at all.

"Relax, Sharpay, you're in my room, don't you remember? You climbed my tree last night, broke a branch…" _Got_ _into my shirt, shared my bed, and invaded my dreams,_ he added internally.

She appeared to calm down though she was blushing madly and began raking her hair furiously in an attempt to look at bit more decent to him. It was a futile attempt of course. She still looked rumpled. He wanted to tell her not to bother. He had never seen Sharpay like this: without make-up or fancy clothes and her hair a total mess. Yet, she was still stunningly beautiful in his eyes.

"Turn around Troy, I need to get dressed," she ordered.

As much as he liked the idea of her getting naked a few feet next to him, he decided that her comfort mattered more. "You can use the bathroom," he said. "It's just at the end of the hall. You might like to freshen up a bit. I'll keep watch and make sure my parents aren't up."

"Thanks," she said as she gathered her clothes.

They tiptoed together in utmost silence to the bathroom and he waited outside. She came out in less than five minutes and they went back to his room. 

"Give me two minutes to put something on," he said. "I'll walk you home."

She nodded and turned around as he changed into a shirt, jacket and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and some trainers. They went downstairs as quiet as mice and got outside.

It was still quite dark and cold. He noticed Sharpay shiver so he took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. He let his arm remain there and Sharpay didn't shrug it off. They walked in silence, breathing in the morning air and listening to the sound of their own heels on the cemented sidewalk. Inwardly though, Troy's heart was dancing a conga. His dream was already fading like mist but somehow he didn't care. Just walking beside her right now was even better. He was just content to be like this.

They arrived at her door much too soon. He reluctantly let her go.

"Thanks," she said, almost in whisper as she handed his jacket back to him. A certain disappointment overcame him at this lost contact with her. He felt he was missing her already and yet she was still right in front of him. It hit him like a bolt of lightning that he was undeniably in love with her.

"I'll see you later, then…" he stammered. He considered confessing right now, but the image of Sharpay slapping him shot down the plan. He decided it would be best to wait and win her over.

"I think I'll go to school with Ryan today," she said. "I'll meet you in the theatre at 8:30."

He was a bit disappointment that he wouldn't be picking her up. But he thought she deserved some time with Ryan, and if that made her happy then he was all for it. "Okay. I'll see you then…"

"See you…"

She went inside and slowly closed the door, though up to the last second, she was staring at him.

When it was finally closed, he jumped up in jubilation and danced all the way to the curb of the street where he met the paper boy who shot him an odd look. He walked normally after that, but once in a while he skipped a bit just so he could match his feet with the thump-thump of his heart.

_**A/N again: **No confession yet, I know, but I still need to tie up a lot of stuff and I can't just do that in one chapter. There will probably be about 3 or 4 more chapters before this thing ends, but that really depends on the details I come up with. I originally intended this to be a mere five-chapter story and look how it turned out. _

_I'm really busy this December so I don't think I can update until after Christmas. The next chapter isn't written yet and I'm still deciding in my head how it will go. Plus, there's that other plot bunny jumping in my head about my next HSM story that keeps interrupting my train of thoughts._

_In the meantime, if any of you are interested in reading my other stories you can check out my other pen-name: SpouseofOrestes. I don't have any HSM stories there. They are mostly on the Chronicles of Narnia, if you're into that._

_Again, I'm so happy by all your reviews. Thank you, they really mean a lot._


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: **Happy New Year to everyone! And to start the new year right, here's an update, although it's a bit short. Again, my special thanks to all the reviewers, I especially love the extra creative ones. I'm so glad you like this story so much. I'll try to update "Consequences" as well when I finish chapter two. It's still in the works. _

**Chapter Twelve**

_Against Ryan's warning and my own nagging sensible side I've fallen in love with Troy Bolton._

_How else can I explain climbing his tree at night just to see him and risking being caught in his room by his parents because I couldn't bear not to be near him? Long after he had fallen asleep next to me, I lay awake and watched him sleeping. I couldn't resist so I kissed him on the forehead and told him I loved him. I touched the side of his face and when my hand run through his lips I felt him kiss my fingers though he didn't wake up. When I finally fell asleep on his shoulder, I dreamt of him confessing his love for me. So it was a rather pleasant, though rather startling moment for me, when I woke up with his lips on mine._

_After that I didn't have the heart to keep pretending to not like it. I let him walk me home. In the golden silence of that short walk, I could feel something in the way his hand gripped on my shoulder. I let myself be happy with the reality that we were just like any ordinary boy and girl walking the path to romance that I've always dreamed of. It was as simple as that and I was content with that._

_I watched him from my window while he danced like a madman from my driveway to the corner of the street. He looked very much like Gene Kelley in Singin' in the Rain after he drops off Debbie Reynolds at her house. _

_And I wondered, hoped, that maybe, just maybe, he feels the same way.

* * *

_

Troy spun Sharpay fast before pulling her back into his arms and locking her in one final kiss. She returned it with equal passion as wild applause came from the crowd. He felt his surroundings darken as the curtain went down but he was unwilling to let her go. He was rather pleased that she seemed to share the same idea.

"Hey, break it up, you two! It's almost time for curtain call!" hissed Kelsi from the wings, though she sounded quite amused.

Troy reluctantly pulled away but grinned at Sharpay who returned his smile. He pulled her to the left wing just as the curtain went up and they waited as the chorus members were introduced first. Troy laced his fingers with Sharpay's and she didn't shake it away. He gave her hand a firm squeeze.

"Last performance," he whispered to her ear. "I almost wish it wasn't ending so soon."

"We had fun, didn't we?" Sharpay whispered back without looking at him. She was watching the minor cast members as they took a bow each.

Troy hovered closer to her. "Yeah, even better than the last one."

"I wasn't in the last one," she said evenly.

"That's why this one's better. You're here," he replied. He couldn't see her face in the dark, but he knew she was smiling at that praise.

He hadn't found the courage to confess his feelings to her yet. He didn't want to just say so outright and risk an outright rejection that could ruin their somewhat more stable friendship. But in the last few days, he tried giving little hints. So far they seemed to be working. He had managed to make her truly blush a couple of times when he did something subtly sweet and she stopped brushing off his hand when he tried to hold her hand in private. He could tell at least that Sharpay liked him back. That was enough for now.

"We make a great team," she said.

"Yeah, we do," he sighed breathlessly. She was so close to him in this dark wing and he was feeling so euphoric after a wonderful performance he almost wished he could just say it. "And I wish we could always be like that." He paused to breathe a bit and made a sudden decision. "Sharpay," he squeezed her hand even tighter. "I wanted to tell you, I l—"

"Sharpay Evans as Beatrice!" The announcer startled Troy. Sharpay let go of his hand and pranced out into the stage to make her bow.

A moment later, his name was called and he followed her out on stage and took his bow with the rest of the cast. They had another standing ovation and this time the applause lasted quite a long time—ten minutes by his estimate. When the curtain finally came down, the stage suddenly erupted in pandemonium. Everybody was suddenly throwing themselves at each other, hugging and shouting out congratulations, much like winning a championship basketball game. Troy found himself being pulled almost violently away from Sharpay by his cast and crew mates. Helplessly, he was carried over by the tide of well-wishers out the side exit doors of the theatre. There in the hall, he found an even bigger crowd that included his father, his basketball teammates, several cheerleaders, and others he couldn't even identify. Together, they managed to manhandle him as usual in their jubilation. It wasn't an unpleasant experience. He was used to being crushed like this in basketball games. But for once, he wished the one crushing against his body was Sharpay.

It took him several minutes to find her. When their eyes locked from across opposite ends of the hall, Troy mentally agreed to come to her. They both attempted to amble towards each other. However, there appeared to be a sea of bodies that came between them and Sharpay seemed to have lost the power to force people to part for her. Her number of hailing fans seemed to rival his own now.

It took an agonizingly long time for him to reach her. When he did, he lifted her in his arms and twirled her around amidst delightful cheers and cat calls. She laughed heartily until Troy slowly brought her back to the ground just as the crowd around them magically thinned out. People seemed to take the hint that they needed a private celebration of their own. She was flushed with joy and Troy found her so irresistibly beautiful. He was about to pull her for a kiss and tell her how he felt when...

"Hey, Sharpay?"

_Damn Chad! _Troy thought his best friend really had the worst timing of all. He really should consider killing him sometime.

Sharpay turned to face the afro-haired boy. "Yes Danforth?"

Chad and Taylor, who was standing next to him, looked a bit uncomfortable. "We just wanted to say congratulations. You were great."

"Yeah, it was awesome," said Taylor without a hint of sarcasm. "I cried at some parts every time I see it which is more than once. You were really good, both of you."

Sharpay lit up a smile. It was genuine one, Troy could tell. She seemed really pleased about this and Troy was glad.

"Thanks," she said.

"Look, I know we seemed a bit… standoffish before," began Taylor. "But… if you… wanna hang sometime…"

Sharpay smiled at her again. "Sure, I think I'd like that."

"Shar!" Ryan shouted over the din of the crowd as he waved a piece of paper in the air. Sharpay excused herself to get to her brother and Troy was left with Taylor and Chad. Troy looked at them questioningly.

"Look, Troy. I suppose she's not so bad," whispered Chad aside to him. "I've seen your play three times and I have to admit, she's great on stage and you two have got chemistry. And I don't think it's just acting. Man, these last few days, I've never seen you this happy." He shook his head and lowered his voice even further. "You love her, don't you?"

Troy nodded. "I do, I really do."

"I could see that," Chad replied. "And I'm really happy for you. So I suppose Taylor and I could give her a chance."

He was truly was grateful his best friend was finally giving in and he shook Chad's offered hand.

There was a sudden shrill scream and it effectively quieted the entire noisy hall for a full minute before the noise started again. Troy however, didn't settle like the rest. He knew that voice anywhere.

"Sharpay!" he shouted worriedly. There was no reply and he rushed through the crowded hallway to the very end of the corridor. It was hard to get through the throng of ecstatic chorus members so he had to push himself through them. When he finally got through, he found Sharpay embracing Ryan desperately. She looked like she was in tears and seemed to be trying to hide it in her brother's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

No one answered him and Troy was confused. Sharpay's back was to him so he couldn't see her face. But he could see Ryan's. He was smiling. So was Kelsi who was standing next to them though she too had tears in her eyes. When Kelsi saw him she flung herself into Troy's arms and hugged him like crazy.

Troy was startled and completely baffled at this unusual gesture. It took him a while before he could ask her:

"Are you alright?" But he didn't wait for an answer. He saw in the next second Sharpay giving Ryan little kisses on the cheek. He momentarily forgot that he was her brother and he gave the male Evans a death glare.

To his astonishment, Ryan glared back while trying to avoid his sister's lips. "Don't even think of it! Even if she's too happy!" he warned. Troy was even more confused until he realized Ryan's overjoyed girlfriend currently had him locked in a bear hug.

An ecstatic Kelsi finally let go of Troy. "I need someone else to hug!" she laughed. Ryan pushed his sister off him like she had a contagious disease and was about to offer himself when Sharpay pushed him back and beat Ryan into hugging Kelsi.

"Hey!" Ryan protested.

"Wait your turn, Ry!" Sharpay snapped but she was smiling. She and Kelsi kept hugging while bouncing like a pair of five-year-old best friends who just got what they wanted for Christmas. It was a sight Troy never expected to see. They were always fighting.

"Fine!" shouted Ryan sarcastically as he watched his sister and his girlfriend jumping up and down and giggling like idiots. "I'll go hug Troy!"

Troy's eyes widened as Ryan began heading towards him looking seriously about to do it.

Sharpay quickly let go of Kelsi and pushed her towards her twin to prevent him from going a step further. "Don't even dare! He's mine!" She laughed and Ryan and Kelsi joined in.

"Could someone please tell me what's going on?" Troy helplessly asked.

Sharpay just enveloped him in a hug and brushed her lips against his. When she stepped away a bit she flashed an opened white envelop in his face. "I got accepted to Julliard on a full scholarship!"

Troy felt happy for her. "That's great!" he replied as he returned her hug.

"Kelsi got in too and so did Ryan although I supposed Daddy has to pay for his tuition since he doesn't have the grades to get a scholarship."

Troy laughed. "I can tell," he replied as he watched Kelsi kissing Ryan behind them. He ignored them though for Sharpay was clinging to him tighter and he absolutely loved having her body close to his. He pressed his cheek to hers.

"I guess I should be answering that acceptance letter now," he whispered.

Sharpay pulled away slightly to face him. "Which one?" she asked. She knew he had gotten several from good universities with full basketball scholarships.

"NYU," he replied before staring lovingly at her. "So I can be near you."

Sharpay's mouth fell open as understanding dawned in her face and he could see her eyes go glassy.

"Sharpay," he began as he touched her cheek, ready to wipe down the tears he knew were about to fall. "I lo—"

"Troy! After party! Come on!" Chad shouted from behind him.

He felt several hands grab him and lead him away so he couldn't see Sharpay anymore. Sharpay was busy being led away by the other drama club members as well.

Troy gave up. He supposed he had to wait to say it to her.

Oh, but he definitely had to kill Chad for his bad timing.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait. What is it, a month? I apologize to all of you that check every day just to see if I updated. I know you're all looking forward to updates but I'm finding it difficult getting time to write with so much work to be done. I am writing this as often as I can, along with "Consequences" but I can only do it mostly via long-hand that needs to be transcribed and re-edited thoroughly so it takes a while. This story is almost over (sniff  ) but at least there's the other one to look forward to. Love to all my readers and reviewers. I'm also updating "Consequences" as an advance Valentine gift.

**Chapter Thirteen**

_If there was such a thing as complete happiness, I think I have found something close to it. The last two weeks of high school were wonderful. Never mind if final exams had us glued to the books most of the time and we were stuck in study groups in all waking hours so much Troy and I didn't get any alone time. I knew he cared, that much I was sure. When he chose to go to NYU because he wanted to be close to me, that was indication enough. He wants to continue this relationship and that was a subtle promise I clung to. _

_On the last day of exams, I hoped to finally catch back with Troy, but Kelsi dragged me to the mall and we bonded for the day as we went shopping for prom and graduation dresses. It was a good thing too. Kelsi may be a talented musician, but she's a dunce on personal style. Her idea of formal wear seems to be inspired by a cross between the wicked queens of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Honestly, I have no idea how my brother fell for her! Anyway, I couldn't possibly allow her to show up as Ryan's prom date looking like a Disney villainess. That would be awkward especially since I knew Ryan will be dressing like a prince. I owe him that at least after what he did for me and Troy._

_I managed to educate Kelsi on getting a dress with style (though she still insists on wearing black). It was plain sleeveless dress with a full skirt accentuated with a long string of pearls. I also got her to agree on a full makeover for the next day. She invited me to sleep over at her house so we could get ready together. It was the first time I ever did that and it turned out to be so much fun. We stayed up late at night working by her piano and we managed to write half a song together. I already gave her the lyrics of the song I wrote for Troy early last week and she said that she was working on some music for it too. We toyed with the idea of getting an album out together in the future, perhaps when we go to Julliard. _

_The next day was all about the Prom. Troy and Ryan both wanted to see us but we decided to play coy and told them through SMS to leave us alone until they pick us up at 6 at Kelsi's house. We wanted to see the look on their faces when we appear looking like goddesses. And it did work quite wonderfully. The moment I stepped downstairs in full view of the occupants of the Nielsens' living room, Troy's mouth just dropped open and stared at me like he was seeing a vision. My gown was ivory silk that clung over my body. It was held only by a double chain halter strap with rhinestones at the bodice. It had a flowing thin silk train at the back that I held to while I descended to add to my impression of a queen alighting towards her subjects. I thought I could get some practice now, because I was more than sure I would be getting Prom Queen later tonight. Besides I was enjoying the growing look of fascination on Troy's face as I took each slow… step… down…_

"_Oh god, we look like chess pieces!" Ryan laughed. I abruptly stopped. Trust my brother to ruin the moment._

_Kelsi punched him in the arm._

"_I was just mentioning an observation," he said in defense as he pointed to each one of us. I realized what he was talking about. Just as Kelsi and I are wearing contrasting neutral colors, Troy and Ryan were also the same. Ryan was in white: everything from his coat, to his dress shirt, slacks and down to his shoes. He had a sort of 1950s look about him that perfectly matched Kelsi's Audrey Hepburn style. They looked like a pair of golden age Hollywood celebrities. Ryan and I never talked to each other on what he was wearing so I suppose this was yet another fortunate product of twin telepathy. Troy on the other hand was in pure black that gave him an air of sinister danger. I rather liked the contrast with me. The angel and the devil, it couldn't have been more perfect._

"_Well, I think I'm more than happy with that as long as I 'take' the white queen," Troy said as he took my hand and gave it a kiss. There was an ominous hint in the way he did it that I felt a tingle run from my fingertips that made contact with his lips down to my spine. I gave him a small smile, biting my lower lip in an equally dangerous seductive pout._

"_Not if I… 'check,' you first," I whispered to him._

"_We'll see who gets check-mated before this evening ends," he whispered back, adding emphasis to the syllables, 'mated.' _

_I shivered at his suggestive comment. We've always flirted with each other with double meaning words, but I always considered it as nothing more but harmless teasing. But tonight, I couldn't help but feel he was deadly serious. If telling him how I really felt about Troy was the last move towards losing a game of chess, then I was definitely heading towards being checkmated. Of course, I'm hoping I'd end up with a stalemate with him feeling the same way._

_Our little banter was interrupted by our parents. My mother along with Coach Bolton had come by to the Nielsens' as well just to see us off and to take souvenir photos. It was a ridiculous and rather embarrassing gesture that the four of us endured. It could have been worse though. At least my Mom and Coach Bolton just took photos of me and Troy normally. Mrs. Nielsen had Kelsi and Ryan doing ridiculous Hollywood poses. Kelsi looked like she was in hell when her mother insisted she do a Breakfast at Tiffany's iconic pose for the camera. Ryan seemed to think it was a great idea though and that endeared him to Mrs. Nielsen. What a suck-up. But I suppose he needed to get into her good graces considering what he planned on proposing on our living arrangements for college. _

_Ryan told me last week that it would be nice to get an apartment in New York instead of living in a college dorm. He already found a nice place with two spacious bedrooms near Julliard. He and I can share and we can have Kelsi along as my roommate to lessen the expense. He went on to say how economical it would be. But I saw right through him and told him he just wanted an excuse to be living in the same house with Kelsi. Ryan however, told me sarcastically that if I was jealous, I could always invite Troy to be 'his' roommate.' How could I say no to that?_

_I haven't told Troy but I was planning to tonight. I'm hoping for a positive answer. A thrill of excitement came to me at the thought of living with him and perhaps taking our relationship a step further. But as I met his gaze, I could tell he was going to take that first step tonight. _

_When Mrs. Nielsen was finally satisfied with the photo shoot, we all drove off in separate cars to the school. My Mom was coming along as a member of the PTA in Troy's car with me so we couldn't really talk much. I really should get her to ride later with Ryan and Kelsi, or maybe I could arrange to have Coach Bolton take her home in his car._

_We arrived just in time, not too early or too late. We got the grand entrance I planned out. Everyone was looking. No doubt about it. After the usual pleasantries with his friends, Troy led me to the dance floor where we still had an audience following our every move. I was positive I'll get prom queen bagged by tonight. And later there would be a private moment with Troy to look forward to. I pulled closer to him and smiled to myself. Nothing could possibly go wrong. _

Troy held Sharpay close to him as they swayed to the music. He never really took much stock with titles, especially not Prom King. But winning it tonight with Sharpay as his queen made him feel happy. It had something to do with the fact that she won by a large margin. It meant that people now really accepted her as a true queen of East High—one that commanded respect from the rest of the class. And most of all, everyone accepted her as his.

He pulled away slightly to look at her. She was smiling that adorable smile again that he knew was sincere. He kissed her lightly on the lips. It was just a brief chaste kiss. He didn't want to make it too passionate, knowing the whole school was watching. That kind of kiss could wait when he was alone with her later tonight. Their relationship was public enough already. He didn't want something as important as their intimate moments be something that would end up as school gossip. And his saying those three little words to her was an important intimate moment. He thought of the CD inside the disc player of his car that Ryan had handed to him yesterday. It would be the perfect way to say how he felt using her own words.

The song ended and they walked together hand in hand away from the dance floor only to be accosted by well-wishers. It went on for a quite a long time and Troy couldn't help but feel a bit tired of it. Sharpay shouted over the crowd that she had to go to the girls' room. That left him alone with the rest of his fans. He felt like he was suffocating with all the adulation. With a bit of help from Chad, he managed to pry himself away. He told his best friend he was just going off for a bit of fresh air. Troy knew that with Sharpay's vain streak, she wouldn't be out of the powder room for another 15 minutes at least.

He stepped through a side door that led outside of the gym then closed it firmly to prevent any other well-wishers to see him and pester him again. Outside, he felt immediately the icy sting of the night breeze. The atmosphere was cold and heavy and there was not a star in the heavens, signaling an impending rainfall. Still, Troy continued to walk outdoors, inhaling deeply the scent of grass that came from the open track field looming before him. It felt better here than going back into the crowds. He wished Sharpay was with him here though. He thought perhaps he could persuade her to come out here later where they could be alone, and maybe...

He abruptly stopped his train of thought. He glimpsed a lone figure sitting at one of the benches near the edge of the field. She was wearing a violet prom dress and a thin shawl over it. She had her back to him and her nose appeared to be buried in a thick book. But he still recognized her from her dark hair. Her shoulders shook and he realized her shawl wasn't enough to keep her warm.

"Gabriella?" he called out before he could think. She turned and met his gaze. Even with the dim light, he could tell she was blushing when she recognized him.

"Troy?" she managed to whisper back though her voice was rather shaky and she shivered once more. He felt a bit sorry for her.

"It's cold," he said. "What are you doing out here?"

She looked uncomfortable and seemed to be trying an effort to control her shivering. "J-just killing time."

"Why aren't you in the gym where it's warmer?" The question was out of his mouth before he realized what a stupid question it was. The answer was pretty obvious. Nobody wanted her there. The whole senior class and most of the juniors had already cut her socially.

"I don't… want to be a bother to anyone," she managed to answer. "I didn't really want to go to the prom at all, but my Mom insisted I go." She gave a forced laugh. "You know my Mom. She's got these romantic notions about high school social events. She kept saying I was going to miss half my high school life if I didn't go."

"Oh," said Troy. He couldn't really think of an answer. An awkward silence hung in the air and for a long moment he could feel Gabriella was getting more and more embarrassed by the minute. He knew he should just walk away and leave her alone. She would probably feel glad for it. But she shivered again and he couldn't allow her to just let freeze out here. He took off his coat and handed it to her.

"Here, put this on for the moment."

"Troy… I shouldn't…"

"You need it more than I do," he said insistently as he shook his coat in her direction. She finally took it from him and draped it over her almost bare shoulders.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"You're welcome. Just leave it by my locker later before you go home," he said. He turned away and began to walk back towards the gym.

"Troy, wait!"

He knew he shouldn't turn back, but he did anyway. She was giving him a pleading look. "I know the last time we spoke we didn't really part well," she began slowly as if she was choosing her words carefully. "I know you must still hate me and I understand that. But if you can find it in your heart to forgive me… I'm really sorry…"

Troy stared at her for a minute and realized he didn't hate her. In fact he felt nothing for her, no resentment, no anger, not even slight annoyance. Just pity for he suddenly understood why she was sitting out here alone in this bitter cold. It was because even the cold night air was better company than having the whole senior class snubbing her and gossiping about her. He remembered how it felt when he was the subject of gossip. He remembered too, how Sharpay was snubbed and called names. He would never wish that on anyone, even someone who cheated on him.

"Gabriella, I forgive you. And I'm sorry too. I guess I was a bit too harsh. I didn't mean what I said before. I was angry." He finally held out his hand. "Friends?"

Gabriella looked relieved and she smiled at him. She accepted his offered hand and shook it. "Friends."

The tension between them seemed to have immediately lifted. Troy felt something like a huge weight lift from his chest. He realized that the saying was true. Forgiving someone did make you feel better.

"Come on, let's sit and talk for a bit," he said as he led her back to the bench. They sat a body apart from each other. "So tell me, how are you?"

"I'm alright," she replied. "I mean I always hang around at the teachers' lounge. They let me stay there and they let me help with the lesson plans. I also tutor a few freshmen during free periods, at lunch and after school. They're nice you know, the freshmen…" she trailed off.

"Unlike the seniors," Troy finished for her. He knew it wasn't his fault but he somehow felt guilty that he could have done something to make her life a little better at school but didn't. "I'm really sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't be. It's not your fault how other people are. Besides, I deserve it for cheating one you." She added slowly in an almost inaudible voice that told him she was still deeply ashamed of what she had done. He couldn't help but feel for her.

"No," he said softly. "Nobody deserves that. So you made a mistake. Your offense was with me personally, not with the rest of the school. They had no right to hate you just because of something you did to me."

"Well you know how people are. They just—"

"Brand you, I know," nodded Troy. He gave a deep sigh as he thought of Sharpay and how she too had been branded for most of her life that in the end people never really got to know her. "They always think that everything's clear-cut. You know. You're either the good guy or the bad. But life's not like that. We all have our good sides and bad sides and we all make mistakes."

Gabriella smiled. "You're right. I said it before Troy, I think you're cool but not for the reasons your friends think. You understand people better. You see a more complex side of them."

He shook his head. "I didn't learn that on my own. Somebody taught me that."

"Really? Who?"

"Sharpay," he smiled wistfully as he imagined the face of the girl he loved. "She's the one that showed me that there can be different sides to people and that we are more than what people label us."

Gabriella eyed him carefully. "You really love her, do you?"

Troy nodded. "I do. She drives me nuts most of the time," he laughed. "That's just like her. We don't have a perfect relationship even if we do appear like it in public. But she helped make me a better person than I was before I was with her and she continues to do that. That's more than enough reason for me to love her even more."

Gabriella gave him a bright smile, the first he had ever seen in her face for a long time. "I'm happy for you. I feel the same way with Michael." She took his hand and squeezed it. "I'm glad we had this talk Troy. I want to thank you for everything we had."

"Thank you too," he said as he squeezed her hand back. "So what are you doing after high school?"

"UCLA," she replied. "I got a full scholarship for a course in chemistry. I chose the university so I can be with Michael. How about you? Where are you off to?"

"NYU, so I can be near Sharpay. She's going to Julliard."

"That's nice."

They fell into silence again, as if they both ran out of things to say. They listened in to the sounds of the fast disco music that had been playing constantly from the gym since Troy got outside. Troy hummed the last few bars just to have something to do but it ended too soon and was replaced by a slower song that wasn't so "hummable."

"Prom's almost over," Gabriella offered to break the silence. She fell into uncomfortable quiet again then added: "I finished a book at least. It was a productive six hours." She stopped abruptly and Troy could sense she was mentally hitting herself for saying the wrong thing. It was becoming more blatantly obvious how miserable she was the whole night. Troy couldn't help but feel sorry for her even more. He suddenly made a decision and stood up. He offered a hand to her.

"Dance with me."

Gabriella hesitated.

"Come on," offered Troy. "You can't let the prom end without dancing at least once. You'll disappoint your Mom's romantic notions."

Gabriella gave a little laugh and finally accepted Troy's offer. She stepped near him though he still held her at arm's length. Troy led her through the steps and Gabriella feebly followed him. He suddenly remembered how uncoordinated she was. Even during the Twinkle Towne Musicale it took ages of rehearsals before she finally learned the dance moves needed for the play. Fortunately, there weren't a great many. It was mostly singing so they got through it alright. Troy couldn't help but compare her with Sharpay. With Sharpay, all she needed was the music and her body would naturally follow the rhythm easily and gracefully. It was the one of the things he loved about her.

Troy tried to twirl Gabriella to relieve the monotony of their dance move that was currently confined to shifting their weights between their right and left feet. But she missed a step and fell backwards. Troy just managed to catch her waist in time before she hit the floor. Instinctively he pulled her towards him and she grasped his neck. She pulled away a second later.

"I'm bad at this," she said.

"I agree," Troy said seriously though Gabriella seemed to think it was a joke and laughed harder at herself. Troy managed half a smile just to be polite. He couldn't imagine how he ever found her attractive at all. He wasn't repulsed by her, but he found no spark of attraction either. She was just a girl, like any other that he felt a need to be nice to because it was the civil thing to do.

The music ended and he was glad for it. He was dying to get back to Sharpay.

"You're welcome. I better go now. Will you be alright?"

"Yeah. My Mom will be coming by soon to pick me up. I better meet her now at the entrance. Oh and here." She removed his coat from her shoulders and handed it back to him. "Thanks again, Troy."

He nodded in acknowledgement as he put his coat back on and headed back towards the door. It was slightly ajar when he got there. He wondered for a moment if he had left it like that when he came out. But he dismissed the thought immediately. He was too eager to get back to Sharpay. If he had only thought about it a minute longer, he would have realized he had closed the door firmly after he went through it the first time. But someone else had gone out after him, found Gabriella in his arms, and rushed back inside. That someone left the door slightly open for she was too distraught with the tears streaming down her face to close it properly.


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N:** Yes! After an eternity, I finally got the inspiration to write this chapter down. I think what triggered it is Ashley's song "Love Me for Me" that I was listening to yesterday. I'm really sorry for the delay. I know you've all been clamoring for this. Don't worry the next and last chapter is already written, I just need to run it through for last minute editing. I'm leaving in a few minutes for the province where I won't have access to my laptop, so most likely my next update won't come until next week. I'll reply to your reviews if I get an Internet access somewhere on the road. Til then, enjoy the story. Tootles!_

_Btw, I got Sharpay's prom dress from a picture of Ashley wearing a white prom dress from a Cosmopolitan Prom issue._

**Chapter Fourteen**

_I stared at myself in the mirror. The fake prom queen crown didn't do me justice. I looked better without it. I took it off, stuffed it in my purse and smoothed my hair. I didn't need some stupid little prop anymore. If the way Troy was staring at me all evening was an indication of his feelings for me, I can safely say he was hooked on me. Tonight after the prom, I'll tell him about my plans with Ryan and Kelsi to share an apartment for college. I think that would be an excellent way to bring our relationship to the next level. After high school we could start afresh. I don't have to be the Ice Queen anymore and we'll just be like any ordinary couple, as it should be. _

_I sprinted a bit of perfume on my wrists. I gave my reflection one last smile and headed out. The dance floor was crowded and I sought Troy in the sidelines. He was probably with Chad or some his other basketball buddies. _

_Somebody suddenly pulled at my arm. I turned to find my brother. _

"_Hey, Kelsi and I got a surprise for you," said Ryan. "Don't go wandering off with Troy alright. At least not until the prom officially closes," he added teasingly._

_I punched him on the arm. "We're not like that, alright," I said to him. _

"_But you might later," he joked. _

"_Shut up," I said as I hit him again. But I was secretly happy. I wondered just how this night would end. I was ready to jump and tell Troy I love him and I would do it tonight. After that… well that's up to him._

_I left my brother and went to find my date. He seems to have disappeared after the coronation. I found Chad with Taylor and stopped them._

"_Have you guys seen Troy?" I asked._

"_Oh yeah, he said he went out for some fresh air," answered Chad. _

"_Thanks," I replied and went out the side doors. It was rather cold and the sky was heavy without a single star in sight. I can tell heavy rain was about to fall. I shivered in the cold and wished I brought my shawl. I stepped down the stairs, careful not to trip on the uneven steps. I reached the bottom step without faltering, but stopped._

_No! _

_I can't believe it. He was dancing! With Gabriella!_

_I tried to stay calm. No, this wasn't what it looked like. He wasn't really holding her that close._

_But suddenly, Gabriella fell backwards and Troy grabbed her waist and pulled her to him like some conquering hero in a romance novel. She didn't hesitate to embrace him in return._

_Suddenly there was a nabbing pain in my chest, my throat was choking and I couldn't see. My vision was too blurry. All I could see was the two of them hugging like that and I couldn't bear to watch one more moment. I turned back, half stumbling through the stairs. I yanked the door open and couldn't get through in fast enough. I had to get away, far away where I could tell myself what I saw wasn't real. He wouldn't do that to me. He couldn't! He cares about me, not her. _

_I half-run blindly through the hallways but finally paused by the bulletin boards. I leaned my head on the glass that covered one of the announcement boards. But as I did, I caught a glimpse of Troy's name on top of a list tacked to the board. I knew this was the list of passers for respective schools. This one was NYU and Troy was listed on top as his name started with B. _

_I felt hope lift. Didn't Troy choose NYU to be near me? Wasn't that an indication enough that he wanted a relationship after high school with me? _

_I never really looked past his name before, but somehow my eyes strained down for the first time. And suddenly the answer was there: clearly between Montenegro and Munich was Gabriella's name. _

_Gabriella got accepted in NYU as well! That's why Troy chose it, not to be near me in Julliard but to be with her, in the same university!_

_I grasped the glass pane of the bulletin board to keep myself from collapsing. I felt so weak-kneed as I realized the truth: I was nothing to him! If he showed interest it was because I was just the rebound girl. He was just waiting for her to come back and now that she has, it was over. We were over. _

_I saw another sign indicating the schedule for graduation ceremonies tomorrow at eleven o'clock. Tomorrow was the end of our deal. I was so stupid! How could I forget? _

_Tears started streaming down my cheeks uncontrollably. I had to get away from here where anyone could walk by and see me. I climbed the empty stairwell to the second floor. I entered the bathroom at the end of the hall that I knew would be empty. It was there that I let myself scream in frustration. _

_It felt like hours that I cried there, clutching at the cold tiled walls that offered no comfort. But I knew I had to go back down there. Ryan would be looking for me and it would be odd if I just disappeared. I retouched my makeup and put my crown back on my head. But as I stared at that sparkling jewel on my head I felt ridiculous. I tore it off my head along with the sash they pinned on me that said 'East High Prom Queen 2006.' Suddenly the title and all the perks of popularity tied to it meant nothing to me. I tossed it all in the trash can and fixed my hair and make up until I was back to being perfect. No matter what happens, no matter how I feel, I will appear before everyone like normal. I have my dignity at least._

_I entered the gym and immediately Troy appeared by my side._

"_Hey, I've been looking for you all night. I even asked Kelsi to check you in the girls' room. She said you weren't there. Where have you been?"_

_He looked genuinely concerned, but I suppose he has to. We were in public again and I was still his date for the evening. We have to keep appearances._

_Mr. Matsui's voice boomed over the gym to say his closing remarks. I barely listened. My heart was pounding too loud. I wanted to scream. But I knew I couldn't. I didn't have a right to. I never asked to be loved. It was a deal, nothing more. I shouldn't have expected more._

"_And for our last song for the evening," said Principal Matsui. "Let's give it up for an original song from our very own drama club students: Ryan Evans and Kelsi Nielson."_

_My ears perked up when he mentioned my brother and Kelsi. I stared up the stage and saw Kelsi seated on the piano. Next to him sat Ryan who had his acoustic guitar. They began playing a romantic melody together. People began to fill the dance floor again and I couldn't help but feel jealous that my brother had found his perfect match up there, when I just lost mine._

"_Last dance?" I heard Troy whisper in my ear. I didn't look at him for Ryan was staring at me intently with a smile that told me he thought I was having the best time in my life. Oh how wrong he was._

"_Sharpay?" Troy repeated. _

_I hesitated, wondering why he was offering this when he could have Gabriella to dance with. Then I realized, he was still keeping his part of the deal with me. He couldn't just go back to her immediately. He would probably wait for a decent interval too to show up with her in front of his friends. I could have slapped him, screamed and told him what a loser he was. But I didn't. He looked so handsome tonight. He even looked at me like I was the love of his life. What a great actor he is. _

_Yet for the moment, I stepped into his arms. I wanted to enjoy these last few hours with him. He led me to the middle of the dance floor and held me close. Oh it was perfect, so perfect, if only it was real._

_Ryan's voice suddenly floated over the hall and I recognized the familiar words:_

"_It started out a game we played_

_We wrote the rules, the goal is to gain _

_But who'd have thought the rules could be so strained?"_

_It was my song! The song I wrote for Troy on the night I climbed his window. Kelsi wrote some music for it. So this was the surprise they were talking about. _

"_When love came in unexpectedly_

_Blurring boundaries of what ought to be_

_I realized that it wouldn't be easy"_

"_You like it?" Troy whispered to me as he led me to follow the music's rhythm. "Ryan said you wrote the lyrics."_

"_Yes," I managed to whisper back. But inside, I was dying to scream at him: 'I wrote it for you! I wrote it because of you!' But I couldn't tell him that now. What good would it do?_

"_When things fall into the gray _

_There's nothing else to do or say_

_But to let it come, whatever it may"_

_He doesn't care about me. This is all just a deal to him. Just a pretense. I'm not going to beg for him to love me when he obviously doesn't want me that way. It's better if he doesn't know how I feel. I won't be the one to beg. I can't. I won't let myself._

"_I accept you for who you are_

_The black, the white and in-betweens_

_And I would not change you _

_On any condition"_

_I pulled him closer and rested my head on his shoulder in a desperate embrace. I blinked back tears as I felt his heartbeat against me. Tomorrow I'll say goodbye to him. But for now I don't want to think of it. One last dance, one last embrace that's all I have left and I might as well savor it. But, oh the song! I almost couldn't bear to hear it, knowing the last part of the song was approaching:_

"_I accept you for who you are_

_The black, the white and in-betweens…"_

_He pulled away slightly and stared at me with so much love in his eyes that I could almost believe it. He pulled down to kiss me and I kissed him back just Ryan sang the last part I dreaded:_

"_And I would not change you _

_Because I take you _

_And I love you _

_With no conditions"_

_I pulled back and wiped away the tears in my eyes._

"_Are you alright?" he asked._

"_I'm just touched with Kelsi and Ryan, that's all. It was sweet of them," I said quickly before rearranging my face again so my emotions wouldn't show._

_He gave me a quick hug. "I know," he said before he led me to applaud with the rest of the crowd. After a few seconds people began to move towards the exits. Troy led me out with the rest, while saying our farewells to our other friends._

_I couldn't find Ryan and Kelsi. They seemed to have disappeared immediately after their performance. Troy teasingly just told me it would be futile to search for them as they were probably busy with other matters. I expect my brother won't be home until dawn. I just hope he'll wake up in time for the graduation ceremony at 11:00 tomorrow morning, and if he does, I hope he can stand on his own._

_We passed Coach Bolton and my Mom at the door who smiled at both of us._

"_Jack's dropping me off home," my mother said as Coach Bolton nodded. Then together they issued a warning in unison as if they actually rehearsed it: _

"_Don't stay up too late."_

_Troy blushed. "Dad…I… we won't…"_

_His father smiled knowingly. "I just want to make sure you're both there bright and early for the graduation ceremony," he explained though his meaning was quite clear. _

"_I'll just take her home, I promise. No detours," Troy assured him and my Mom. He was putting on his most angelic smile I could swear a halo was appearing on his head out of thin air. _

_Our parents just shrugged and let us go. The sky was heavy when we got to his car. By the time we had our seatbelts on small rain droplets were already falling on the windshield._

_Troy smiled at me. "I had a wonderful time."_

_I'm sure he did. He danced again with his ex-girlfriend. I wanted to cry but I mustn't think of it now. I couldn't bear to. I don't want to be sad when it's the last night I will be with him. I don't want to waste the time._

_As we pulled out of the parking lot, the heavens let out a heavy downpour, quite unusual in the early summer._

"_Good thing the rain waited until after the prom," he said._

_I bit my lip to keep from saying anything and turned away from him to watch the rain falling on my side of the window. Of course he was glad it didn't rain. If it did then he wouldn't have that romantic dance with Gabriella. _

_Troy kept chattering but I no longer listened. The hammering in my heart was too loud. Why was he torturing me like this? Why wait until the deal ended tomorrow? He could have just said: "Sharpay, would you mind if we ended the deal a few hours earlier? I want to take Gabriella home—or someplace else where I could bang her. You can ask my dad for a ride home with your mom if you want. I'm sure he won't mind dropping you both off at your house." But no, he wanted to be honorable with the deal. Damn it! It would have been easier if he just said it straight to my face than keeping up with the pretense. He doesn't have to anyway. It's not like anyone is here to see it._

"_You seem awfully quiet. Is something bothering you?" Troy asked. _

_I didn't respond, but kept on watching my window as we passed onto a dark area of the road. We approached an open field, the same one where I stopped to on the night of his break up when I let him "mourn" and later where he offered me this deal. How strange that we should be here again where it all started. _

"_Sharpay?" he asked again._

"_Pull over, Troy."_

_He did. On the same spot where I parked several weeks ago. _

_I felt his hand on my shoulder. "Sharpay, what's wrong?" _

_I stared at his reflection on the glass. He was looking at me with so much loving concern in his eyes and it hurt so much that this was the last time he would look at me like this, that I would be near him like this._

_I slowly turned to him and met his gaze. One last time, I thought as I made a decision._

"_I don't want tomorrow to come," I whispered as I pulled his head down for a kiss._


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Troy trailed his lips down Sharpay's neck. He lingered on the spot where the bottom of her throat ended and her chest began. She moaned audibly, telling him to go on. He obliged her by letting his lips travel lower. He finally stopped and hovered just where the fabric of her dress hung loosely over her breasts. The halter chain that held it at the nape of her neck before was already unclasped and he knew he only had to pull and her chest would be fully exposed to him. He decided to let his lips do the work by kissing her there, while his hand worked downwards into more intimate territory. But as his hand moved underneath her skirt, she gasped and pulled his lips back to hers to keep herself from screaming. He met her kiss with his own, darting his tongue in and meeting hers.

After several minutes, he pulled away to breathe and he retracted his hand from between her legs. But she grasped his face with both hands and forced him to look back at her.

"Troy, make love to me," she whispered.

"Now?" he gasped in surprise as lightning struck followed by thunder that interrupted the noisy rain that fell in torrents outside.

"Yes!" she cried almost desperately. Her eyes had a wild look about them, as if his assent meant life and death to her.

His body was screaming to say 'yes,' but at the same time he was looking at his surroundings and everything about it was shouting 'no.'

Troy lost track of how exactly they ended up in the backseat of his car, in a dark road while rain poured incessantly outside. All he could remember was Sharpay going very quiet on the drive from school. She told him to stop here and suddenly she was kissing him bolder than they've ever done before. Next thing he knew he was unclasping the chain of her halter while she was unbuttoning his shirt. Now they lay here, clothes rumpled and half undone in this cold, cold car. Making out was one thing, but this was not his ideal romantic way to lose his virginity, and possibly hers. He wanted it to be special.

He pulled away and buttoned his shirt. "We should go. Your parents will be worried and we have to wake up early tomorrow. We don't want to miss the graduation ceremony."

But Sharpay pulled at him and kissed him hard. "One last, please…" she begged. It startled him the way she said it. She never begged for kisses before. But her tone now was frantic and almost like a sob. He kissed her back and she began leading his hands to touch her again. But he stopped when he realized where this was going.

"It's almost one, we should be getting back," he said.

"Not yet," she whispered. "Please Troy, I want to do it. Before we graduate."

"In here? It's not really… well… its' a car. I mean I prefer if it was somewhere more… decent."

She pulled away and he braced himself, expecting her to blow up again in a rage whenever she didn't get what she wanted. Instead, to his surprise, her face paled and for a moment, he saw her again: the porcelain doll. She was trying hard to be perfectly calm, but suddenly tears came flowing down her cheeks.

"Sharpay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean… look, if I offended you in any way…"

But her face turned fierce again. "Why bother? I'm not decent enough anyway!"

"What…"

"Yes, I get it. I'm not decent enough for you! I'm just the slut. I'm not like your Gabriella who likes to hold back. Well, you know what, after tomorrow you can go back to her for all I care because our deal ends tomorrow!"

Troy was astonished, but even more, he was confused. It had been weeks since they ever mentioned Gabriella. He had even stopped thinking about her for a long time. The same way that he had forgotten he had a deal with Sharpay to begin with. To have it mentioned now was quite a surprise.

"What are you talking about?"

"The deal ends tomorrow, Troy, on our graduation day," she said sarcastically. "I don't have to be your girlfriend anymore. I thought you might like a treat so I offered sex tonight. But since you don't want it, it's your loss. I suppose you're saving yourself for Gabriella, while you enjoy the benefits of practice with me."

"Stop!" he cried as he clamped his hand over her mouth. "Sharpay, I don't care about Gabriella. I've stopped caring a long time ago. And about the deal—I stopped thinking about that." His heart was hammering with so much pain. He pulled away from her. "I thought you understood, I thought you actually cared…"

It was her turn to ask: "What are you talking about? We had a deal. I fulfilled it. I let you use me as your girlfriend."

"Use you… oh Sharpay… is that how I made you feel?" He felt enormously dreadful. All the while, he thought he was doing the right thing; that she understood how he felt when the whole time she thought he was just using her. He held her in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."

But she pushed him away. "There's nothing to be sorry about," she said calmly with her usual smirk. "We had a deal. I never asked for anything more."

Suddenly he was angry at her. "So this was all just a deal to you? Nothing more but a stupid deal!"

"Well what else was it? Why do you think I come with you, let you kiss and touch me. It was part of the deal. I was your comfort girlfriend and I got my reputation reward for it. So let's shake hands now and tomorrow we could go back to being friends." She stopped and her face grew harsher. "You know what? We don't even need to be friends. We could go back to the way it was. I think that would be the best thing. I could finally stop being nice to you. Frankly, it's making me sick."

He couldn't believe she was so cruel. After all they've been through, she was still the same.

"Hasn't it ever occurred to you that I was with you because I wanted to?" he choked bitterly. "Because I care? Because I love you?"

"W-what?" she asked with a confused expression. But Troy felt she was just teasing him. Maybe she was toying with him some more in her usual sick way to demean him. Still, he couldn't find any words to counter her. He could only tell her the truth.

"You heard me. I said I love you. I've fallen in love with you in these weeks we've been together. And I was fool enough to believe you could love me back!"

Suddenly he couldn't stand being so close to her in this enclosed car. He wrenched open the door and got out in the pouring rain. In seconds he was completely soaked. He ran on the dark road, not caring if he had to walk all the way home. He thought his heart had been broken before, but he was wrong. This was worse, ten times worse. Because he finally realized that what he had with Gabriella before wasn't the real thing. The one with Sharpay was. She was the only one that knew him, even the bad side of him that no one ever saw. He loved her—but it turned out she didn't love him back.

"_Beep! Beep!"_

He unconsciously moved to the side to let whatever car traveling behind him overtake him but the car didn't.

"_Beep! Beep!"_

He turned around and wasn't surprised to see his own car with Sharpay in the driver's seat. She gestured to him to get in.

"You know what? Just run me over because I am not moving an inch!" he shouted at her.

She revved the engine and to his astonishment she moved the car forward directly onto him! In a split-second, he thought she was really going to do it. In the same split-second he also realized he didn't want to be hit. He thought it must hurt an awful lot. He turned coward and instinctively jumped back. As he did, he slipped on the wet ground and fell on his bum. The headlights flashed in front of him. He covered his face and screamed, expecting an impact.

It never came, or if it did he didn't feel it. All he could see was the blinding light. For a moment, he wondered if he was dead. He heard a car door open and the thump of heels coming towards him. Two hands pulled his head up almost violently and he came face to face with a frantic pair of brown eyes.

"Oh my God! Troy! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!" Her hands touched the side of his face for a moment before they roamed around his body as if looking for any traces of injury. He was too befuddled to do anything but lie limp on the wet and dirty asphalt. Suddenly, his head was forcibly crushed into a wet white fabric and he could hear a wild thumping sound coupled with a ragged breath underneath it.

"I love you, Troy. I'm sorry," he heard her gasp. "I didn't mean it, I swear. I was just so angry I thought you were just playing around with me." He could feel her body wracking uncontrollably and he could barely make out what she was sobbing out: "And even if you are, I don't care. I just want you to know I love you. I don't want to lose you, Troy..."

He didn't trust himself that he heard right. Did she say she loved him? Or was she teasing him again just to be mean? He didn't know whether he would be happy or angry at her. Troy tried to say something but all he could get out was a barely inaudible "Aaahhh—" Sharpay was gripping his face too tightly on her breasts, which when he thought about it, wasn't such a bad place to be. The sound of her heartbeat was comforting and he wished with all his might that he wasn't dead, dreaming or being duped by another one of Sharpay's pitiless little schemes to mess with his head.

"Troy… can you hear me? I said I love you! Please say something!"

He opened his eyes and found her face inches from his. She was just as soaked as he was. Her perfectly made hair was plastered around her face and was getting even more wet by the minute as rain continued to pour on her head. Her makeup was smeared and little inky-rivers of mascara were streaming down her cheeks. Droplets from her face fell near his lips and it tasted of salt. He it knew it was her tears mixed with rainwater.

A flash of lightning illuminated her face for a moment and he could see each worried line pulsating on her temples. Her eyes pleaded with him. And suddenly he knew she wasn't just acting. She was again that fragile porcelain doll that was frightened and only begged for a friend, for a chance to be loved.

His heart ached to comfort her. He slowly reached a hand to brush a tendril of hair heavy with water away from her face. His fingers lightly touched the side of her cheek. She shut her eyes to savor his touch. She slowly moved her head away. He opened his mouth to tell he loved her back but his mouth suddenly filled up with rainwater. He choked and gagged for a moment but it was difficult to spit out water considering he was lying on his back with his face to an angry sky that appeared hell-bent on emptying an ocean-full of water on the state of New Mexico. At the same time, he felt muddy water cascading around him. It was already flooding on the road and if he didn't get up soon he would drown. He almost laughed at the futility of it all: If she didn't kill him by running him over, she was going to lie on top of him on this asphalt road and let Mother Nature do the job for her. Even while confessing her love for him, Sharpay Evans never lost the capacity to be deadly.

He felt her arms jerk his body up to move him to a sitting position. He coughed up water and she patted his back, all the while making heartbreaking sobs. When he finally got his breath back he turned to her. She was crouched in a kneeling position in front of him. There were splotches of mud on her dress and her skirt was now submerged in two inches of flood water. But she appeared not to notice. She grasped his neck again in a desperate embrace and gasped "I-love-yous" in his ear.

His heart soared. After hearing it so many times, he couldn't possibly be mistaken. She loved him. He hugged her back and his hands gently cradled her head as he whispered back: "You're crazy and you'll be the death of me. But, by God, I love you too."

She sobbed harder but then pulled away slightly to face him. "B-but what about Gabriella?" she asked uncertainly.

He shook his head. "I don't care about Gabriella. I told you before. I don't love her, I love you."

"But I saw you tonight, when you danced with her…"

Troy suddenly realized what happened. Sharpay must have seen them together and thought he was getting back with Gabriella. "Sharpay, that was nothing. It was just a pity dance. I felt sorry for her because she was all alone and everybody was treating her badly. I was just trying to be nice."

"But-but…" she began doubtfully. "She got accepted to NYU, and you're going there—"

He put a finger to her lips to stop her. "She's going to UCLA, she told me so herself, to be with her boyfriend. Sharpay, I chose NYU so I can be near you." He got up and helped her to her feet as he realized they were already swimming in flood water that was steadily rising. If they didn't get up soon they would both drown. But he didn't want to break the moment by suggesting they get back in the car. He had to explain to her now. He cupped her cheeks with his hands and stared at her directly. "I love you and I want us to be together even after high school, even after that. You're special to me and if I don't do it with you tonight it's because you mean a lot to me. I want our first to be something we can remember doing together when we're both ready for the right reasons."

She sniffled audibly but smiled at him. "Troy…" she whispered before she choked on her tears again. She began coughing. It was Troy's turn to pat her on the back.

"Sharpay, just spit it out," he said about her phlegm which he knew was probably filling up her throat.

"Nwhro!" she said between coughs.

"What?"

"Nwhro!!!" she cried as she continued to cough but refused to let out the mucous that was already lodged in her esophagus. The cough turned to uncontrollable wheezing. Troy was afraid if he didn't do something, Sharpay would choke to death.

"For heaven's sake Sharpay, spit it out!" Troy shouted. It was getting harder to be heard above the rain that seemed to increase in fury in the last ten seconds. "And blow your nose if you have to. I'll love you even if I see you spit!"

Sharpay scowled at him before drawing a loud gargle from her throat and spitting it aside. She also blew her nose and let whatever liquid matter dislodged there fall into the rushing water that carried it away. She wiped the remnants of it with her bare hand that she let rinse with rain water.

"God, I'm disgusting!" she cried.

Troy smiled at her. Despite seeing her like that, he still thought her adorable. "And I still love you," he said before singing: "The black, the white and in-betweens."

"Troy…" she murmured happily through new tears were forming around her eyelids that were mixing with the rain.

He sang the last few lines of her song that Ryan had taught to him the day before:

"And I would not change you

Because I take you

And I love you…"

She joined him in the last line:

"With no conditions"

He saw she was about to go through another sobbing fit again. If he did it would mean more mucous up her nose and as much as he loved her, he preferred to kiss her without that.

And so he did kiss her and she kissed him back, unmindful of the rain that was still pouring over their heads and the rising muddy water around their ankles. All that mattered was she knew and understood that he accepted her, just as she was…

Even after she tried to run him over…

Even after she called him gay…

Even after she almost drowned him…

Even when she constantly messed with his sanity…

And even with fresh mucous building up her nose.

He loved her, as simple as that…

With no conditions.

**End**

_**A/N: **Yipee it's done! I want to thank all of you who read and reviewed the story. It's been wonderful writing this and I'm going to miss it. But anyway I still have "Consequences" to work on and provide loads of twists for you to enjoy. I'll reply to any of your individual questions or comments so don't hesitate to hit the review button. _

_Just to clarify, I live in the Philippines (which is 8 hours ahead of GMT). That's why it's already Tuesday here. I'm not American, I've never been to the US so if there are little errors here on cultural differences and the school system, that's my excuse._

_Again thank you to all of you who stayed with this story. I enjoyed every single one of your reviews. Tootles!_


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